MEP (Member of Parliament) Daniel Hannan

On March 24, 2009, after then Prime Minister Gordon Brown gave a speech to the European Parliament in advance of the G20 London summit , and MEP Daniel Hannan followed up by giving a 3 minute speech criticizing in very strong terms Gordon Brown's assessment of Britain's economy. This is how he finished the speech:

"You cannot spend your way out of a recession or borrow your way out of debt. And when you repeat, in that wooden and perfunctory way, that our situation is better than others, and that we are well placed to weather the storm, I have to tell you, you sound like a Brezhnev-era apparatchik giving the party line. You know, and we know, and you know that we know that it's nonsense. Everyone knows that Britain is worse off than than any other country as we go into these hard times. The IMF has said so. The European Commission has said so. The markets have said so, which is why our currency has been devalued by thirty percent. And soon, the voters too will get their chance to say so. They have seen what the markets have already seen. That you are the devalued Prime Minister of a devalued government."

The YouTube video clip of his speech was a sensation. It attracted more than 630,000 in the first 24 hours. As of October 2014 it was viewed almost 3 million times. It became the "most viewed today" YouTube video worldwide for two consecutive days. MEP Mr. Hannan has appeared on several American cable news channels including MSNBC and Fox. He appeared on Hannity via link, and Glen Beck (when he was on FOX) the next day. He also appeared on Your World With Neil Cavuto, where he stated that he would have voted for Ron Paul in the 2008 presidential elections if he were an American citizen.

After watching this video, I was extremely impressed with MEP Mr. Hannan. Not only did his passion and commitment for his constituents come through in a big way, but his ability to articulate his opinion was total perfection.

MEP Mr. Hannan was born into an Irish family in Lima Peru. He was educated at Marlborough College and Oriel College, Oxford, where he studied Modern History. He was president of the Oxford University Conservative Association, and also became involved in Bruges Group.

Afterwards he worked as a speech writer for Michael Howard and William Hague before moving to the Daily Telegraph. MEP Mr. Hannan was first elected to Parliament in 1999, and was re-elected at the top of his party's list for the South East England constituency in 2004.

MEP Daniel Hannan as of this writing is on two committees. Legal affairs and Constitutional affairs. He is also a writer and journalist and has been a member of parliament since 1999. He has written eight books on European policy, and speaks affluent French and Spanish. In 2008 he authored The Plan: Twelve Months To Renew Britain.

So what I did was email MEP Mr. Hannan's office, said I was from the US, had just seen the YouTube video that was circulating all over the Internet, and expressed my admiration and respect. I then asked if it would be possible to receive an autograph.

I have some autographs that I have received over the years. My first came around 1984 when I met Jimmy Connors at a Vision Works store in Largo Florida. I received an 5x7 photo and a tennis ball autographed. I also have a Rodney Dangerfield autograph I paid $15 for from his website shortly before he passed away. Julius Erving, basketball great from the Philadelphia 76ers was at a Sarasota Florida Ford dealership owned by US congressman Vern Buchanan in 2008. I asked my girlfriend to get Mr. Erving's autograph because I was working. He signed three things for me. And I bought a business card signed by Les Miles, football coach of the LSU Tigers off Ebay in 2008.

While I am not a collector per say, the ones I have mean a lot. And if I could get one from MEP Mr. Hannan, I would certainly appreciate receiving it. Within a week of my first inquiry, I received an email back from MEP Mr. Hannan's office saying that he would be happy to send it. So in about three weeks I received my first personal note from MEP Mr. Hannan on his stationary. This was a real thrill. And I just received my second personal note on 10-9-09. I expressed my sincere appreciation to Mr. Hannan's office. Not only him but his staff, was kind enough to accommodate my request, and I am just happy to share my little story with everyone.



As far as myself, and I'm sure many others can agree on, Mr Hannan certainly has a successful, promising and bright future ahead in politics representing his constituents. They are indeed very fortunate to have a man of his caliber and stature looking out and working for for them. I would also like to offer a special thanks to Mr. Holland from MEP Mr. Hannan's office. Without him, I never would have received these personal notes.



I wish MEP Mr. Hannan all the best and much continued success....from a very big admirer....me. You can read more from MEP Daniel Hannan's blog. Don't miss it.