Arch Eurosceptic Tory MEP Martin Callanan seems to be mellowing in his views on Europe, now that he is gaining practical experience of how the EU actually works rather than his previous preconceptions. He is quoted in the Evening Gazette as welcoming a Commission initiative to ban the import and export of cat and dog fur in the EU, saying "this shows that where there is a will to effect change, coupled with a strong support for a shift in the law, the Commission is prepared to listen to a well presented case".

This comes on top of his victory with his amendment to allow the continued use of mercury in barometers. This is not an amendment that I agree with, but it certainly showed Martin that EU law is not dictated by the European Commission, as Eurosceptics are wont to claim, but adopted through democratic procedures involving elected governments in the Council and directly elected MEPs in the Parliament.

One man that is not for changing though is the moustachioed Member Roger Helmer, who has been quick to show his disgust at some of his fellow MEPs, and launched an astonishing attack on his leader David Cameron, for supporting a stronger version of the EU's chemicals legislation (known as REACH).

In a letter to a newspaper the right-wing rogue wrote: "Mr Cameron is quite reasonably seeking to enhance his party's green credentials, the proposed "stronger substitution principle" which he espouses makes Reach substantially more damaging. I first learned that Mr Cameron expected his MEPs to vote for a stronger Reach during his speech at the party conference in October, and I was shocked. As a life-long Conservative, I want to support industry, which delivers jobs, pensions and the taxes that fund our public services, and I will continue to do so. I am simply not prepared to vote for a green gesture that will do far more harm than good."


Despite the fact that the tighter chemical legislation will make the continent a healthier and safer place, industrial workers, and indeed the general public as a whole, the ones adversely affected by the myriad of chemicals we know little or nothing about in our environment, obviously do not receive quite as much support from him.