Tories have given up all influence in Europe

They have left the main centre-right grouping to which Angela Merkel's and Nicholas Sarkozy's parties belong.

Instead they have joined up with right-wing parties, in Poland, the Czech Republic and elsewhere, some of which are clearly homophobic.

This remoteness from the main influences in Europe was exacerbated by David Cameron's unnecessary veto of the Eurozone treaty in late 2011. This was clearly a stage-managed action to appease his eurosceptic MPs.

See also the news item about the Tory expulsion of the Vice-President of the Parliament for failing to give up his post in favour of a Polish extremist MEP.

European Parliament

European parliamentary elections are conducted using proportional representation, on the "party list" system, every five years. The Eastern Region constituency, which consists of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, has seven seats. The last election was in 2009 when one Labour MEP was elected - Richard Howitt, who had been a Labour MEP since 1994. In addition to Richard, there are three Conservatives, two from UKIP and one Liberal Democrat.

Richard Howitt is the Labour European spokesperson on foreign affairs. He is vice-chair of the Parliament's Human Rights Sub-committee and a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy. He is also a member of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and is the European Parliament's Spokesperson on Corporate Social Responsibility. He is president of the All-Party Disability Intergroup and in Labour's European disability rights spokesperson.

The Labour MEPs are members of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the Parliament (S&D), which has developed from the previous grouping of the Party of European Socialists (PSE).

The Tories have now broken away from the main conservative group in the European Parliament and set up a new grouping which brings in a small number of MEPs from other parties. The  Polish party in the group, which is known for its homophobic views, has ousted the Tories from the leadership of the group. "The Tories are a divided party," says Richard Howitt, "with no influence amongst the few friends they have, let alone in the European Parliament as a whole."

Richard Howitt's website is at www.richardhowittmep.com
His office is in Cambridge (01223 240202 or richard@richardhowittmep.com).

Richard Howitt MEP