Letter from Strasbourg IT was congratulations all around on Labour's election win, except that the hands being shaken were mainly from European Conservatives who can't stand the British Tory Eurosceptics.

There were also congratulations from some pro-Euro Tories who are fed up with the civil war that is raging in their party.

It's quite funny really to watch them behave just as we behaved in the early '80s. There was some consolation for the Tory Eurosceptics as one of them congratulated the Irish for the 'No' vote on the Nice Treaty.

He spoke of "the Irish people in their wise and far-sighted decision, which strikes a blow for freedom, independence, self-determination and the nation state."

As one Irish member then replied: "One thing that makes my heart very glad is to hear the last unreconstructed Tory of the 17th Century agree at last that freedom is good thing for Ireland."

Also, did he know that the word 'Tory' came from the Irish Torhaide, which means a hunted one, and that he was probably feeling a little but that way since the election?

One memorable moment from the election for me was when a Labour candidate knocked on the door of an elderly lady asking for her support.

"Why, what's Labour done for me," she asked.

"How old are you?" he asked.

"76", she replied.

"Well, you've got a free TV licence. The Labour government took VAT off fuel, you've got free eye tests..."

"Never use them."

"You've just had a pension increase," he declared.

"What about the 75p?" she retorted.

Then he came in with his master stroke: "And what about your £200 Winter Fuel Allowance?"

"What about it?" she snapped. "It's been so cold, I've had to spend it on my heating."

You can't win them all.

Now that the election is out of the way, it's back to normal, which includes helping North-west representatives discuss with the commission the problems in our area of foot and mouth disease outside of agriculture, meeting with the National Farmers' Union on the same issue, and to discuss the future for our region and country in the area of agriculture. We want to move on from being sheepless in Settle, to back to business for everyone who has been affected.

Terry Wynn,

MEP for the North-west