More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Some have been there for years; others for a matter of months. Some are delighted to be the political equivalent of turkeys voting for Christmas, some are devastated. But while they are of different political stripes, Brexit means the same thing for all 10 elected in an election that was not supposed to happen.
As they begin clearing their desks, closing their offices and heading out of Brussels political editor Paul Francis spoke to some of those bidding farewell to the role and what they plan next.
Dan Hannan (Conservative)
Perhaps among the better-known MEPs, Dan Hannan has been one of the longest serving Conservatives of the South East MEPs, first elected in 1999.
It would, he openly admits, be odd if he did not feel a twinge of sadness at leaving the place that has been his and his family’s home for many years and where he was worked for the best part of two decades.
“I’d be lying if I said I won't miss the place, because I've been here for 21 years now.
"Inevitably, the big events of my life took place against the backdrop of the EU - things like when my children took their first steps or said their first words.
"So, in that sense, it feels like the end of a big chapter. But I will not miss the institutions, we were never a good fit here.”
And the friendships forged with colleagues who are on the opposite side of the debate will continue, he insists.
“I've never felt the politics should preclude a friendship. The playgrounds and the cafes and even the corridors and committee rooms of Brussels are sort of haunted by happy ghosts," said Mr Hannan.
When it comes to EU politics, there is a different tone.
“We were only ever a half European country, in a way that I don't think many of the others ever really understood," he said.
"We always felt the tug of language and law, pulling us back.”
Yet he is prepared to concede that there were some positives about the EU.
“We take for granted the way in which politicians from all the member countries now meet and talk regularly," Mr Hannan.
"On any given day in Brussels, there will be a meeting of 28 agriculture ministers or transport ministers or interior ministers and that must be a good thing.
“Of course, you didn't need the whole superstructure of the United States of Europe just to have that but if the EU had been a little bit more flexible, things could have worked out differently.”
He contends that if David Cameron had come back with the retrieval of just one power “there's no question that we'd still be in the EU.”
Instead, when push came to shove “Brussels was prepared to lose its second largest financial contributor, than to allow any diminution of power.”
As to the future, he says that despite considerable speculation he is not interested in trying his hand at getting a seat in parliament.
“Plenty of people were kind enough to ask me last time [to stand], including some in Sevenoaks," said Mr Hannan.
"But it is so rarely given to people in my line of work to quit on our own terms. I feel I've done what I came for.
"It's been 20 years. I'm going to remain a committed party member but I'm not planning to fight any election.”
It seems certain he will continue as a political commentator - something he is as well known as - despite no longer having a ringside seat in Brussels.
What next?
“I don’t know. I'm planning to take a bit of time off. The one immediate thing I'm going to do is get a dog.
"I always felt it would be terribly unfair to have a pet when I was commuting to Brussels for four days a week.”
What are the chances the UK could rejoin the EU?
“An absolute non-starter. The only really powerful and effective argument that remainers had was the status quo bias - the argument that, 'yes, the EU may be expensive it may be remote it may be undemocratic but is it really worth the hassle of changing'. That argument will disappear on January 31.”
John Howarth (Labour)
By his own admission, John Howarth was close to losing his place in the European Parliament last year as the Brexit Party tide washed over large parts of the country.
Had he done so, Labour would have had no representation in the south east region for the first time, an unenviable accolade.
That he scraped through is probably why he is not inclined to rage against the injustice of being caught in the crossfire of an election that became a Brexit referendum rather than anything else.
Nevertheless, he is disappointed that time is up.
"Yes, I will be sad. To serve your party at any time is a great privilege.
"Away from the hurly burly and the partisanship of politics, I think there are very few people who come into it, who don't come at it from the perspective of public service and trying to do something that they believe to be right. So, it's a really great opportunity to do it.
“I didn't think I was going to get re-elected because, you know, when you look at the results. I was quite fortunate that I did.”
In terms of how he has affected change as an MEP, he picks out his push for safeguards for workers in the fossil fuel industry, whose jobs will be at risk as the efforts to tackle the climate crisis ramp up.
“It's everything the UK government didn't do when the mining industry was closed down.
"So in other words, we've got fossil fuel based jobs that will need to be run down if we're going to tackle climate change and carbon emissions.
“We’ve got a choice. You either throw those people out of work, or you proactively put the investment in retraining for the green economy industry and so we've created a fund to do that.”
What next?
“I’m going to take a holiday that isn’t in term time. I suppose I could retire but I probably wouldn't enjoy it much.
"I'll probably stay doing something in the public policy field. I still think there's much more that needs to be done.”
Will the UK rejoin the EU?
“I think it's something that will become an inevitability for all the political and economic reasons that we joined in the first place. And there's also a generation out there who feel cheated.”
Alexandra Philips (Green Party)
If there has been one party unequivocal in its belief that the UK benefits from being in the EU rather than out, it is the Green party.
So it comes as little surprise to hear Alexandra Philips say she is devastated that Brexit means the UK severing its links.
“It's devastating just to be there for a few months although we've achieved a lot in the short time available," she said.
The politician cites the work done on the Green New Deal and the party’s push for a ‘globalisation adjustment fund’ as direct evidence of achievement - the latter an initiative which will provide money to support businesses that fold as a consequence of the UK leaving without a deal.
“So, despite us not having a huge amount of time there, we've done an incredible amount of work.”
She rejects the suggestion the European Parliament is a by-word for bureaucracy.
“It is much more collaborative than what we've got in the UK. And because of that, things do inevitably take longer [but] I'm not sure the average MP would be able to do all that we’ve done in less than a year.”
On tackling climate change, she says the scale of the emergency is a “global issue that needs global solutions” and Brexit means the UK will have less of a voice.
“The best way to do that is at the highest political level and for us that's always been in Europe.”
She is scathing about the government’s commitment to tackling the climate emergency and fears Brexit will mean the UK will not be properly called to account.
“Climate change is so far down this government list of priorities, it's almost not on there. Really, you've got to wonder whether they are even bothered about the environment and it's all nice words, and no action whatsoever.”
What next?
“I will be continuing my role as the Mayor of Brighton and Hove council until May.
"And then I return to my day job which is with Terrence Higgins Trust as head of their policy in England, Scotland and Wales.”
Will the UK ever return to the EU?
“It’s entirely possible. I think that it will be driven by young people so unfortunately that is probably some way off.”
Alexandra Philips (Brexit Party)
For someone who has devoted much of her working life to the cause of Brexit, you would expect Alexandra Phillips to be delighted about the end of a short-lived spell as an MEP.
But while she is “delighted and thrilled” that Brexit is now achieved, it is mixed with a tinge of sadness.
“I'm delighted that what I have been working on for my entire adult career is finally coming to fruition.
"But of course you get sentimental about colleagues, the people you've worked with along the way.”
She describes The Brexit Party’s group of MEPs who were elected last year as “a really, really tight knit family.”
“We've absolutely loved spending time with each other, we have loved to talk to each other and worked hard.
"We've had a lot of laughs along the way and some really really deep and true friendships have been forged from a group of people from across the political spectrum and from all sorts of different backgrounds. That's the bit that really makes me melancholy.”
She is steeped in Brexit politics, having acted as Ukip’s chief press officer for three years when Nigel Farage was leader.
After the referendum, however, she supported the Conservatives - having - perhaps unusually - been won over by Theresa May.
But last year, she stood in the EU election for the Brexit Party and became one of four South East MEPs elected.
She says that becoming an MEP has only served to confirm her misgivings.
“I was gobsmacked at how anti-democratic the European Union is how anti-democratic the parliament is and how it's set up behind closed doors, how places on committees are allocated by the Euro-phile groups; it is not healthy for democracy.”
Asked if there has been anything has been done by the EU that could not have been achieved without it, she replies: “What, positive? People go on about mobile phone roaming charges but my provider has been doing that for ages with other international countries; so these things can be done at commercial level as well.”
As to the future, she is doubtful about restoring her support for the Conservative Party.
“I would struggle to be honest. I'm not saying they're not good people, and people with ideologies that are entirely in parallel with mine but I thought some of the things they did during the election were abhorrent.”
Will the UK seek to rejoin the EU?
“Impossible. It won’t happen. We're already seeing the pound thriving again and are already being able to see the strong economic outcome of what we delivered.
"And we haven't even started yet. And I think when that happens, rejoining the union will be unconscionable.”
What next?
“It depends. I have been working in politics virtually all my career and once you are in it, it’s like a drug."
Antony Hook (Lib Dems)
For Liberal Democrat Antony Hook, being an MEP has been the most interesting months of his life.
But the sting in the tail? Being an MEP has only served to underline his view that the UK would be better off in rather than out.
“Having representation is a good state of affairs and certainly a much better state of affairs than what we're looking at now, where we're still going to be following all of the rules; but will have no voice, no votes, and no say in those decisions which is a terrible situation.”
He dismisses the claim that other MEPs did not regard the UK’s representatives seriously because they knew they would only be around for a brief period.
“No-one knew how long we would be there for...there was a lot of expectation that we might be there for the full five years and so we were treated as seriously as anybody else; we weren’t seen as second rate.”
The Faversham county councillor believes the way the European Parliament works is far better than Westminster’s adversarial and partisan system.
“The debates in European Parliament are always much more professional and businesslike and people consider that they are there to do something serious.
“It just makes me sad now that we're in a situation where important decisions are going to be taken that will affect our future we're not going to be a part of them.”
What next?
“The one downside of the job has been being away for some nights each week from my family. I will enjoy not having to do that anymore.
"I am devastated for our country as to what this means because I have seen what I already believed which is that it's important for us to be there.”
