Blogging from the Highlands of Scotland
'From fanaticism to barbarism is only one step' - Diderot

Thursday 22 July 2004

UKIP MEP's gender blunder costs him a place on a key EP committee

Sorry for all the acronyms in the title above; in case any of them are unclear, this is what they mean:
- UKIP / United Kingdom Independence Party
- MEP / Member of the European Parliament
- EP / European Parliament

Now, to the story. Godfrey Bloom MEP made some bizarre comments a few days ago concerning the role of women "of child-bearing age" in the workforce. At least partly as a result his wish to join the women's rights and gender equality committee of the EP has been thwarted and he will instead sit only as a potential substitute member.

The leader of UKIP's EP representatives, Nigel Farage, has stated that the party's 11 MEPs hoped to disrupt and delay new EU legislation and it was feared that the work of the committee was likely to be disrupted by his presence. A neighbour back home in Yorkshire (which forms part of his constituency) is quoted as describing him as a 'buffoon'; from his appearances yesterday in television interviews (the first time I recall having the pleasure of seeing and hearing him) I would have to agree that this categorisation seems entirely apposite.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Welcome to my comment area. Whilst all comment is welcome you are requested to respect the views of others. To read full terms for use of this facility, please visit my 'Terms of Use' section, linked to under the 'About this Blog' heading at top right of the blog. Note added 12JUL2010 - All comments will now be pre-moderated before they appear in this blog; this is a measure to prevent 'spam' commenting, which has become frequent of late. Thank you.