Eryl Margaret McNally (born 11 April 1942) is a former Labour
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Commu ...
(MEP) for the
East of England
The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire ...
constituency.
Personal life
She was born in
Bangor, North Wales
[McNally Eryl Margaret(MEP)](_blank)
. Socialistgroup.eu (11 April 1942); Retrieved 26 August 2011. but has lived in
Abbots Langley, near Watford, Hertfordshire, since the 1960s. She is the daughter of the late
Llywelyn Williams, MP for Abertillery from 1950 to 1965.
She attended Newbridge Grammar School in Monmouthshire and Bristol University, graduating in Modern Languages in 1963. She obtained a PGCE from University College Swansea in 1964.
Before being elected as an MEP in 1994, she was a teacher of modern languages in Reading and Hertfordshire. She was Head of Modern Foreign Languages at
Saint Michael's Catholic High School, Watford. In 1985 she became an Advisory Teacher for Buckinghamshire County Council and was later appointed as County National Curriculum Co-ordinator for Modern Languages. She was an Ofsted Inspector for Modern Languages from 1992–1994.
Family
She married James McNally in 1964 and they have two grown up children and two grandsons, Leo and Nye Farrington.
Political life
McNally joined the
Labour Party at the age of 16 and served as a Parish Councillor, a District Councillor on Watford Rural District Council and
Three Rivers District Council (from 1970–1976) and as County Councillor on
Hertfordshire County Council
Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England, the United Kingdom. After the 2021 election, it consists of 78 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Part ...
(from 1986 to 1995) where she was Vice- Chair of the Education Committee before being elected to the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adop ...
.
She represented the
Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes constituency from 1994 to 1999 and the
East of England
The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire ...
constituency from 1999 until she stood down from the Parliament in 2004, saying that the regional constituencies were too large an area to represent and that no-one had "the foggiest idea" who their MEPs are. She was an opponent of the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror
, image ...
.
Her political interests in the European Parliament were in
renewable energy and environmental issues. She is a former trustee and Chair of the
National Energy Foundation, President of the European Forum on Renewable Energy Sources (EUFORES) and was formerly vice-chair of the European Parliament's Energy and Research Committee. She served as a substitute member of the Committee on Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities and as a member of the delegation for relations with the countries of South America and MERCOSUR.
Honours
In 2003, McNally was awarded the position. of Chevalier in the
Légion d'Honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
by the French Government in recognition of her efforts to improve understanding between Britain and France.
She was awarded an honorary doctorate in Law by the University of Hertfordshire and was
awarded an honorary Doctorate in Science
Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
b
Cranfield University In 2012 she obtained a first class honours degree in psychology from the Open University.
Affiliations
She is or has been a member of the
Transport and General Workers Union
The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland – where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU) to differentiate its ...
, the
World Development Movement
Global Justice Now, formerly known as the World Development Movement (WDM), is a membership organisation based in the United Kingdom which campaigns on issues of global justice and development in the Global South.
The organisation produces re ...
,
Action for Southern Africa
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
, the
Socialist Education Association
The Socialist Educational Association (SEA) is a socialist educational organisation in the United Kingdom. It is affiliated to the Labour Party as a socialist society. It assists in the development of and monitors educational policies of the ...
, the Labour Animal Welfare Society,
Amnesty International, the
Co-operative Party
The Co-operative Party is a Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom, supporting Cooperative, co-operative values and principles. Established in 1917, the Co-operat ...
and the
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. The F ...
.
References
External links
Website from period as MEP
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNally, Eryl
1942 births
Living people
Labour Party (UK) MEPs
People from Bangor, Gwynedd
People from Abbots Langley
MEPs for England 1994–1999
MEPs for England 1999–2004