Graham Watson MEP

Staff Allowance

Published on Monday 28th November 2011

Administered by Michael Miles Accountancy of Street who is the designated paying agent (and of no personal connection to Graham or any of his staff).

No part of this allowance goes to Graham by way of additional personal income.

I currently employ the following members of staff.

CONSTITUENCY OFFICE

Jackie Pearce - Head of Office - Salary £30,000-35,000

• Jackie is head of my Constituency Office. She oversees the daily organisation of the staff and office and deals with all constituency enquiries. She runs my diary and organises my travel within the constituency. Before this she worked for Taunton & Somerset NHS Trust as an Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive, Chairman and the Trust Board of Directors.

James Sully - Caseworker - Salary £10,000-20,000

• James is a former civil servant with a degree in Law and Master's in International Affairs from Exeter University. He has recently completed a postgraduate diploma from the University of the West of England, Bristol.
• James has worked for me since December 2007. James assists me by providing research on casework.

Jon Gleeson - Press, Campaigns and Research Assistant - Salary £10,000-£20,000

• Jon studied politics and international studies at Loughborough University where he graduated in 2009.
• Before joining my constituency office, he interned with David Laws during the 2010 general election campaign whilst working as a manager for a delivery company in Yeovil.

Emma Davids - Administrator - (Part Time) - Salary £5,000-£10,000

• Emma joined my office in August 2012 after working Voluntarily for David Heath MP as a caseworker. Emma graduated in 2011 with a degree in Politics and International Relations from Aston University.

Rita Giannini - Office Premises and Personnel Manager- Paid Hourly, total annual payment falls between £10,000-20,000

• Rita is my wife. She has a Doctorate in Comparative Law from the University of Florence, Italy. She has worked for the Italian Liberal Youth Organisation and for a Regional Deputy in the Tuscan Region before moving to the UK, where she worked as the London Region Organiser for the Liberal Democrats for 5 years.
• Rita writes and manages the staff contracts, liaises with the Paying Agent and the European Parliament Officers. She looks after the office premises, pays the bills, prepares Budgets and Accounts. If needed, she collaborates with the Casework Officers on foreign casework.

Richard Pinnock - Strategic Advisor (Part Time) £10,000-20,000

BRUSSELS OFFICE

My Brussels staff are paid directly by the European Parliament but out of the above staff allowance. They are paid in line with Parliamentary pay scales.

Further details on Brussels staffing arrangements can be found here.

Triin Saag- Political Assistant

•  Triin deals with enquiries and helps manage my parliamentary schedule.

Sonia Dunlop- Parliamentary Assistant

• Sonia studied politics and public policy at the London School of Economics where she graduated from in 2009. Before joining my office, she worked for two years for another Liberal Democrat MEP as a Press and Communications Officer.
• Sonia assists me in my role as Chairman of the Climate Parliament and deals with press relating to my parliamentary work.