Dear Editor,
Nigel Farage flatters himself if he thinks the pipsqueak remnants of UKIP are the target of my proposal to raise (to 4.5%) the threshold for creating a political Group in the European Parliament ("Euro-MPs to strip sceptics of cash and influence", 28 May).
The rule change, should it be adopted, will only come into effect after the next European elections, by which time UKIP will have surely faded anyway.
The real target is the far right, which if it gains a mere 2.5% of the seats under the current rule (a far lower threshold than in most national parliaments), could form a Group in the next parliament and thereby qualify for significant staff and financial resources.
Does Mr Farage (and for that matter the Lib Dems) really advocate giving taxpayers' money to neo-Nazis?
Yours,
Richard Corbett
Labour MEP for Yorkshire & Humber
Blenheim Terrace, Leeds
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