Richard Corbett, Member of the European Parliament, LGB 1973
Richard Corbett
La Grande Boissière, 1973
Member of the European Parliament
United Kingdom
Learn more about me :
Currently, I am retired, having been a Member of the European Parliament, where I led the UK Labour Party members.
I have so many favourite memories from Ecolint apart from first kisses and suchlike, there are the teachers (Messrs Leach, Dorsay, Thomas, Shade, Vivian, Mme Poirot, and many more stand out), the football team (which I captained), the senior lawn and salon, the start of lifelong friendships, the Auberge, school dances, and election as Vice President of the Student Council.
Throughout my life, I wanted to take our Ecolint experience (diversity being a richness and no obstacle to friendship and working together, a wider perspective on the world, an abhorrence of nationalism and racism) into the world of politics and international relations. I looked at Europe, where every generation from the fall of the Roman Empire until 1945 had slaughtered each other on the battlefield, and where now there was an attempt at reconciliation and cooperation. I wanted to strengthen and improve that process. In particular, I worked to strengthen the European Parliament - the first transnationally elected parliament in the world - as it showed that the real dividing lines on issues are not really national (one country against another) but political (policy choices and preferences).
If I had to do it all over again, I would be less shy.
My words of wisdom for Ecolint students: enjoy, learn, and think about what you can then take into the wider world.
What legacy do you want to leave? Stronger international governance.