Dear Editor,
My proposal to raise the threshold for forming a political group in the European Parliament will have absolutely no effect on independent MEPs and it is preposterous to suggest I intend to wipe them out (Brussel Sprouts, Eye 1213).
The actual purpose of my proposals is to make it more difficult for the far right to form a group following the next election. As things stand, they would require just 2.5% of the vote at the next European elections to form a group in the parliament and to gain access to the political positions and funding this brings. Does Private Eye advocate granting public money to Neo-Nazi groups?
It is also misleading to suggest this is a Faustian ploy. As you well know most parliaments around the world have thresholds for forming groups, many of them requiring a higher percentage of the current level of 2.5% and my suggested level of 4%, yet these are not accused of sinister plotting.
Yours,
Richard Corbett
Labour MEP for Yorkshire & Humber
Blenheim Terrace, Leeds
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