TORIES ABSTAIN ON EQUAL TREATMENT AT WORK

MEPs today voted on a Report on the implementation of Directive 2002/73/EC, a Directive on putting into practice the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions.

Written by Spanish Socialist Teresa Riera Madurell, the report concerns the implementation of the Directive rather than any policy change. The UK has, in fact, done all it should and fully implemented the terms of the Directive.

Strange indeed then that nearly all Tories voted as a bloc and abstained on the final vote to accept the Report. Those who abstained were:

Ashworth, Bowis, Bradbourn, Bushill-Matthews, Callanan, Chichester, Deva, Elles, Evans, Harbour, Heaton-Harris, Kamall, Karim, Kirkhope, Nicholson, Parish, Stevenson, Sturdy, Tannock, Van Orden

Only Beazley and Dover voted for the Report

By abstaining, the Tories have again broken with the EPP (the centre-right group in the European Parliament to which the Tories loosely belong). The first draft of Theresa Madurell's Report was objected to by the EPP who tabled many amendments which watered it down. However, in the end, true to the spirit of European compromise the EPP, PSE (Socialists), ALDE (Liberals) and the Greens came together to propose a jointly amended text. All of these parties therefore voted in favour of the report - with the not so honourable exception of the British Tories.

It will, of course, come as no surprise that UKIP Members Bloom, Clark and Farage together with the far right, including father and daughter Le Pen, voted against the Madurell Report. The Tories are certainly keeping interesting company these days.