TORY SPLIT IN EUROPE WIDENS

A journalistic colleague in Brussels informs me that the internal machinations of the European Conservatives and Reformists group (ECR) in the European Parliament means it is not a happy or harmonious ship and more resembles a bag of ferrets.

It appears that there between seven and twelve Tory MEPs (out of a total of twenty five) who are becoming increasingly concerned about the political direction of their non-UK group allies and by the actions of two or three of their own MEPs. The Tories in the European Parliament are no longer a disciplined group and the situation is expected to worsen.

Not only has a split amongst the UK Tory MEPs allowed the largely absent leader Kaminski (him, from a very dubious political background and from the far-right Law and Justice party in Poland) to carry on as leader of the group, it appears that David Cameron has alienated most of his allies, by having a private meeting with the Czech PM and leader of the Czech group (the ODS) in the ECR.

This has alienated the Polish members of the group and raised suspicions considerably. This after some Tories in the ECR attempted a demi-coup in an attempt to claim joint leadership of the group.

What the Tories wanted to achieve was that their leader Timothy Kirkhope would be elected co-chairman of the group with equal standing with Kaminski (nicknamed the KK clan). However, because the Tory MEPs are not a homogeneous lot, the numbers did not stack up and Kirkhope and his allies had to back down.

Besides Cameron's clumsy intervention, what has also alienated the Tories' allies in the ECR is that they were not consulted in advance about Kirkhope's plans (almost certainly approved by Conservative Central Office) for a demi-coup and believe they were seen as mere voting fodder in a game of chess between Kaminski and Kirkhope.