UK Tories move from mainstream to margins

2.10.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 22nd Jun 2009

Andrew Duff, leader of the British Liberal Democrat MEPs reacted to the announcement this morning that the British Conservatives had just formed a political grouping in the European Parliament with partner parties from seven other Member States as required by EP Rules.

"It is indeed strange for British Conservatives to find themselves trapped in a bizarre cabal of ultra catholics from Poland and ultra calvinists from the Netherlands," said Duff

"It is certainly not in the British interest for the Tories to be moving from the political mainstream to the political margins."

"I query the credo of this new group and look forward with interest to seeing the common political programme that they will now have to put together."

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