Tories' European allies "a serious point of weakness" |

Wednesday 21st October 2009 | 16:24

Tories' European allies "a serious point of weakness"

A majority of the Phi100 panel believe the Tories' breakaway grouping will continue to cause problems

It's the story that won't go away: the controversy over the Conservatives' new European allies. And it is set to be a big problem for the party, insiders believe.

56% believe it is 'a serious point of weakness for the Conservative Party’, whilst 31% are of the opinion it is 'a non-story stoked by partisan interests'.

95% of left-aligned insiders consider it a serious problem, compared to just 17% of Tory supporters.

In cases where there is a clear partisan split, non-aligned panellists can often act as a bellwether in determining the panel's verdict. Here, they take the view that the Tories' allies represent a serious problem by a margin of fifty to twenty nine.

The new European Conservatives and Reformists Group was formed after the party split with the large centre-right European People’s Party, to adhere to a commitment David Cameron made during the 2005 Conservative leadership election campaign.

The Phi100 regularly surveys Parliamentarians, journalists and thought leaders around Westminster, to determine collective feeling amongst the most influential political figures in the country.

"It was mad to leave the EPP"

“It is a problem for the Conservatives, not because the European Parliament matters, but because Europe will split the party again”, a non-aligned think tank leader commented.

A Labour MP said, “Even if they are not extremist, their allies are mostly small fringe parties. It was mad to leave the influential, mainstream EPP just when allies among governing parties are needed.”

“The problem is not so much the extremism as the evidence it provides that they are marginalised in European decision making”, a Liberal Democrat MP added.

A Conservative MP hit back, “Labour's European allies are actually far worse, but the media loves the Tory story as it combines all of MPs ethics, World War II, the Holocaust and so on.”

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