Ever since David Cameron put himself under pressure from both sides of his party by promising to pull the Tory MEPs out of the EPP in the European Parliament, the issue has been a constant headache for him. In a bid to end the confusion, he launched his Movement for European Reform in Brussels on Tuesday.

It is, Cameron claims, “a Pan-European campaign open to everyone”, albeit a campaign which has so far gathered the support of just one other party, the Czech Republic’s Civic Democrats. To put this in perspective, 235 different parties are represented in the European Parliament, with the abominable far-right Independence, Tradition & Sovereignty group attracting more takers that Cameron’s Movement for European Reform.

There has been plenty of debate in the blogging world about Cameron’s speech and intentions on Europe with the Nosemonkey/Europhobia blog providing a comprehensive set of links on the subject.

Another pertinent comment was Kevin Maguire in the Mirror: "Confused Cameron claims he'll concentrate on 'things that matter' To be honest, I can't recall a politician who's ever vowed to focus on 'things that DON'T matter'. But Cameron can't square his declaration with pulling his MEPs out of the centre-right EPP in 2009. The EPP grouping dominates the European Parliament and has real clout. His plan to ally them with nationalist nutters, including an idiot who denies global warming, will reduce the Tories' influence."

As far as I’m concerned, Cameron’s Movement for European Reform is a failed diversion. Far more important is his pledge to pull the UK out of the Social Chapter of the Treaty, which is the basis for the legislation which protects workers across the whole of the EU's single market.

Previously Cameron has been keen to claim that he supports a better work-life balance but this is completely contradicted by prioritising the UK’s exit from the Social Chapter.

EU social chapter legislation has given both parents the right to time off when a child is born or adopted, improved the rights of temporary workers, and provided for employees in large companies to be prperly informed and consulted. Should Cameron ever succeed in pulling the UK out of the charter (which is extremely doubtful) it would be the most vulnerable British workers who would suffer most.

Curiously, what the Tories usually object to is the Working Time Directive, which is not part of the Social Charter and was adopted when they were in government. At the time they did not oppose it - the UK government abstained in the Council of Ministers. Probably a bit too confusing for Cameron’s advisors!