Libertas – creeping up on the blind side?

Lord Tebbit urges us not to vote for the larger parties in elections to the European Parliament.

His implication is that a vote for a less mainstream party would serve as a slap on the wrists of the bigger parties for their appalling behaviour.

Undoubtedly, a vote for the fringe parties such as UKIP would serve as a wake-up call in Britain.

But I think Lord Tebbit has failed to realise the full implications of a vote for the ‘less mainstream’ Libertas.

Because Libertas is committed to contesting these elections all across Europe, with nearly 600 candidates at the last count, on a pro-democracy, pro-accountability, anti-sleaze ticket, it will most likely accumulate a large bloc of MEPs, with real influence – a larger bloc than either Labour, or Tory, or UKIP could ever hope to achieve. This will be unprecedented.

In any case, a vote for the fringe UKIP would be entirely counter-productive, since it has been shown to be abusing the expense and allowance systems as much in Europe as Labour or the Tories have in the UK.

Lord Tebbit complacently believes he is encouraging people to vote for benign sheep on the fringes of politics. If people vote for Libertas, they will actually be voting for a sizable pan-European party committed to reform, with real teeth. How refreshing it will be to have a meaningful option.