It's been an interesting summer for the Tories in Europe. First up we had the peculiar alliance with some of the more extreme - and some would say dubious - right-wing nationalist political parties as part of the European Conservatives and Reformists grouping in the European Parliament. This has indirectly led to the expulsion of the Conservatives' longest serving member, Yorkshire and Humber MEP Edward McMillan-Scott, who stood against supposed ally Michal Kaminski in an election for vice-presidents in defiance of the party whip. McMillan-Scott duly won as an independent, leaving the ECR the only group without a vice-president. McMillan-Scott summed up growing concerns with the Tories' new group succinctly; "Despite what David Cameron has said there are already indications that some of the members have links with extremist groups and I feel very, very uncomfortable with that."
Next we had maverick MEP Daniel Hannan controversially criticising the NHS on television in the United States, leading to a war of words back in the UK and undermining the Conservatives' stated ambitions to safeguard the Health Service should they be elected into office. Tory MEP Charles Tannock's comments that he would like to see a small charge - in the region of £10 - for visiting a GP probably haven't helped.
Now East Midlands MEP Roger Helmer has claimed on his blog that "'homophobia' is merely a propaganda device designed to denigrate and stigmatise those holding conventional opinions." That there is a plethora of documented evidence demonstrating violence and discrimination against individuals and groups on the grounds of sexual orientation has, presumably, escaped Helmer's attention. He would also be wise to note that tradition is never a legitimate justification for prejudice.
What saddens me most, however, is that these are people elected by the British public to represent us in Europe. One can only hope that this will not always be the case.
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