Westminster blog

David Cameron has pleased the right wing of his party by pledging to pull out of the EPP, the alliance of centre-right parties in Europe. He believes that umbrella group is too wedded to greater European integration.

The move – announced earlier this month – has caused ructions among more pro-European MEPs, however. Few more so than Christopher Beazley, vice-chairman of the Conservative Group for Europe, who said at the time: ‘Who would we join with (instead)? Some sort of mish-mash of mavericks who have no power at home domestically?’

There was a rumour this evening that Beazley could be poised to make some kind of statement of intent tomorrow; timed, perhaps, for Gordon Brown’s visit to Strasbourg, when the British press will be paying more attention than usual to EU matters.

I got hold of Beazley’s secretary, who denied that he was about to quit the Tory whip. However, one well-placed Conservative source said he’d heard that Beazley was going to make some kind of pro-EPP statement, perhaps pledging solo allegiance to the grouping. We’ll see.

Given that Beazley is retiring in the June European elections, and the Tories aren’t quitting the EPP until then, that would be a rather eccentric gesture. Will update in due course.

UPDATE

Yes, it is as we thought: Beazley was on the Today programme this morning having a good moan about the Tory leadership.

“There will be no discussions with Angela Merkel, with President Sarkozy, with all the other conservative leaders. Remember, with enlargement we have now got the Scandinavians, the Balts, the Poles, all of them – around the Baltic Sea every one has a conservative prime minister. None of them will be talking to David Cameron if he goes ahead and leaves.

“I am going to be joining the EPP as a full member as a demonstration that I think the Conservative position should be to stay.”

There is more:

“I cannot watch my country head for the rocks, which it will do if Cameron becomes Prime Minister and has no allies in the major governments of the European Union,” he declared.

“There is a Conservative pro-European argument and it has to be discussed, not smothered by anti-European hysteria in the party.”