When David Cameron announced plans for the Conservatives to leave the European People's Party he essentially left two ways open for Tory Europhile MEPs to protest. They could either register their objection to the policy before the election and announce they they wouldn't join the new Euro grouping- thus putting their fate into the hands of the electorate. This would be a brave and honourable method of registering their disapproval.
If they aren't brave or honourable then Edward MacMillan Scott's approach is much less risky- you stand on the popular Eurosceptic platform for the the election, but then once you are elected and have your snout in the trough for the next 5 years you announce that you cannot in all principle go along with what you promised to do during the election held less than a month previously and jump ship.
EMS can't even go through the whole "my party left me" stuff that defectors usually engage in because David Cameron quite specifically waited until after the European election to withdraw from the EPP, had he done so beforehand the likes of EMS could legitimately claim that they were staying true to the principles they were elected on.
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4 comments:
I don't think that computes, really:
1. "thus putting their fate into the hands of the electorate"? It's only your place on your party list that matters, the higher up you are, the moer likely you get in.
2. "had [Dave left the EPP before the EU Parliament elections] the likes of EMS could legitimately claim that they were staying true to the principles they were elected on."?
Leaving the EPP was only a vague promise. Surely EMS' position would be even less tenable if he had campaigned for a party which had already left the EPP?
When will a conservative leader show some spine, state that he's taking the UK out of the EU, thereby supporting his vote in parliament and then actually do it?
Whatever the history or principles behind this situation, it's still an almighty mess and hugely embarrassing.
"It's only your place on your party list that matters"
But there was a system of primaries to determine their placing on that list (albeit somewhat flawed).
"Leaving the EPP was only a vague promise. "
Was it? It was pretty much the only concrete European Conservative policy that I was aware of prior to the Euro Elections.
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