Tory MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber defects to Lib Dems (Scarborough and Whitby Liberal Democrats)

Scarborough and Whitby Liberal Democrats <info@scarboroughandwhitbylibdems.org.uk>

Tory MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber defects to Lib Dems

March 12, 2010 4:58 PM

Ex Conservative MEP Edward McMillan-Scott

Edward McMillan Scott, one of only 2 Conservative MEPs for our region has defected to the Liberal Democrat Party. Mr McMillan-Scott was a senior Conservative MEP and held the position of Vice President of the European Parliament alongside the Lib Dem MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, Diana Wallis. His defection means that our region is now represented by 2 Liberal Democrat MEPs, 1 UKIP, 1 Labour and 1 BNP.

Commenting on the news of his defection Lib Dem PPC for Scarborough and Whitby, Tania Exley-Moore, said "this is a great boost to our campaigning, both regionally and nationally and Mr McMillan Scott will be welcomed at our Party Conference later this month. Defecting to another party cannot be an easy decision to make, but clearly David Cameron's allegiance with extremist parties that include alleged anti-semitic and nazi sympathisers is something Mr McMillan-Scott could not live with".

For the full text of Edward McMillan-Scott's resignation letter please read below:

12 March 2010

Dear David,

I am resigning today from my appeal against expulsion from the Conservative party and from the party itself to join the Liberal Democrats for three reasons:

1. I have been around the higher circles of the party long enough, most recently serving on both the Euro-election and general election strategy committees at CCHQ, to know that Euroscepticism is in the hearts of most Conservatives. Your decision to split from the mainstream EPP and create the new ECR group has been universally condemned, even by rightwing commentators such as the Economist as a "shoddy, shaming alliance". You say you will not "bang on about Europe" and your spokesman make warm noises. But I fear that on Europe you say one thing in opposition and will do another in government.

2. You continue to refuse to accept that Michał Kamiński, who now leads the ECR and against whom I stood and won re-election as vice-president of the European parliament last July, has had "antisemitic, homophobic and racist links". You say that you are against extremism at home, yet you propitiate it abroad.

3. My family, friends and those who work with me will all confirm that I have sought in good faith an amicable resolution of my dispute at all levels in the party. I have written to you on several occasions without a reply and have pursued the appeal process to which you submitted me in the diminishing expectation of fairness. I have stated my case modestly in the media. Last weekend your lawyers made clear that the appeal would continue to be rigged by you, despite your public pretensions to decency and fairness. As my friend Henry Porter put it in the Observer, your response has been "thuggish and panicky". You say one thing in public and do another in private.

My reasons for joining the Liberal Democrats are that in Nick Clegg they have a leader whom I like, admire and respect. They are internationalists, not nationalists. They are committed to politics based [on] the values of fairness and change, but you are committed to power for its own sake.

Yours sincerely,

Edward McMillan-Scott MEP

Vice-president of the European parliament, responsible for democracy and human rights