North West of England Euro MP, Gary Titley is Labour’s Leader in Europe.  Part of the ‘baby boomer’ political generation, he was born in 1950.  Now married with two grown-up children, Gary lives in Ladybridge, Bolton.

After graduating from York University in 1973, he worked in Spain for two years, where he met his wife Charo.  Once he returned to Britain, he took up a number of teaching appointments, before he was made Campaign Manager to the late Terry Pitt MEP (Midlands West) in 1984. 

Since his election as MEP for the former Greater Manchester West Euro Constituency in 1989, Gary has served on the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs, Social Affairs, Economic & Monetary, Legal Affairs & Internal Market, Environment and Petitions Committees. He played a key role in paving the 1995 round of enlargement, when Finland, Sweden and Austria joined the EU. For his efforts, the Finnish Government made him a Commander of the White Rose (equivalent to a British Knighthood). The Austrian Government also gave him the country’s prestigious Gold Cross award.  

Immediately after being elected Labour’s Leader in Europe in September 2002, Gary was appointed Vice-President of the Socialist Group with responsibility for enlargement.  In that position, he paved the way for 10 new countries to join the EU on 1^st May 2004, finally reuniting Europe after more than 50 years of Cold War division.  In 2003, the Lithuanian Government honoured him with the Order of Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas for his work in helping their country join the EU. Gary has acted as rapporteur for the European Parliament in many key areas of policy, including EU relations with South America and Ukraine, the NAFTA agreement, the European Economic Area, enlargement, association agreements with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Arms Export policy, the EU budget and the future of the European defence industry.  

 In 1997, Gary was appointed European Parliamentary Private Secretary to the then British Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook. Until 1999, he was also Chief Spokesperson for the Socialist Group of MEPs on the powerful Foreign Affairs Committee.  Re-elected in June 1999 and again in 2004 as one of Labour’s North West Euro Team, Gary’s current responsibilities in the Parliament are:   

• Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party
• Member of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party
• Full member of the Committee on Budgets
• Substitute member of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection
• Delegation to the EU-Croatia Joint Parliamentary Committee
• Chair, Party of European Socialist Diversity Network
• Vice President of the All Party Group on Kashmir
• Vice President, Labour Friends of Israel
• Member of the European Parliament Disability Intergroup.