West Midlands Conservative MEPs with Conservative Leader David Cameron MP

At the invitation of Phil Bradbourn MEP I spent three days last week at the European parliament seeing how the impact of European legislation effects British life.

As a natural euro-sceptic my view has always been that William Hague's policy on Europe, that we are "in Europe but not run by Europe" is right. But as an investment manager I am also accutely aware of the impact that the flow of regulation and bureaucracy has on British business. The problem is that British business is honest. When a regulation is approved we implement it. In fact in financial services we heap additional regulation on top to protect customers and business from a variety of forms of risk.

My initial impression of the European Parliament in Brussels was one of disappoinment. The buildings are far from inspiring. In fact they are rather like some faceless airport terminal or urban shopping centre.

I was also disappointed by what I saw in the Plenary session in parliament. MEPs last Thursday were not scutinising legislation in great detail on the floor of parliament. Motions were passed on a world-wide moratorium on the death penalty - despite the votes against that by British Conservatives like Chris Heaton-Harris - and also on the rights of Untouchables in India. Both motions, whatever your perspective on the issues, were simply hot air. The European Parliament cannot effect either, and just wastes time and money on these sort of motions.

And, the parliament spends £1m every day translating into the diverse languages of the expanded EU, including, bizarrely, Gaelic for the Sinn Fein member who speaks perfect English.

But, my over-riding impression was of a British Conservative team that punches way above its weight. Last week south-west MEP Neil Parish was elected president of the Agriculture committee. That will lead to real power in reshaping European agricultural policy and working towards a renegotiation of the CAP. And Phil Bradbourn MEP became senior vice-president of the Home Affairs, Justice and Immigration committee. That is a critical position in the fight against further centralisation of authority that must remain with member States.

I met nine of the British Conservative delegation to discuss their policy areas. It is clear that they undertake detailed policy work that is largely unappreciated in Britain on issues such as the new SWIFT international banking regulations, and the Passenger Name Record data that will do so much to invade individual privacy share data particularly with the US authorities.

In opposing the tide of regulation, the British Conservative MEPs seem often to have an uneasy alliance with other euro-sceptic MEPs from UKIP and even the GUE - former Communists. But, the tide against federalist inevitability does seem to be building, as shown by the recent EPP-ED Group elections in which the eurosceptic Swedish candidate failed to win by just 19 votes.

Finally, I meet Czech MEP Dr Ivo Strejcek, a fiscal conservative and leading member of the new Movement for European Reform who believes in flat taxes and small government.

There is yet hope!