Conservatives oust member over EU rowA leading member of the main opposition Conservatives was expelled from the party following a row over the formation of a right-wing bloc in the European Parliament European Parliament, a branch of the governing body of the European Union (EU). It convenes on a monthly basis in Strasbourg, France; most meetings of the separate parliamentary committees are held in Brussels, Belgium, and its Secretariat is located in Luxembourg. . Edward McMillan-Scott Edward H. C. McMillan-Scott (born August 15, 1949, Cambridge) is a British politician, Member of the European Parliament for the Yorkshire and the Humber region for the Conservative Party. , a veteran member of the European Parliament Member of the European Parliament member n → Eurodéputé m (MEP MEP maximum expiratory pressure. MEP, n muscle energy procedure; diagnostic and therapeutic technique. Pulsed muscle energy techniques (MET) and integrated neuromuscular inhibition technique (INIT) are two examples. ), has been critical of the party's decision to form the European Conservatives and Reformists bloc with Polish, Czech and other right-wing parties. McMillan-Scott claimed the grouping's Polish leader Michal Kaminski has had "anti-Semitic, homophobic and racist links," charges he denies. He angered the Conservative leadership in July by standing for one of the European Parliament's vice president posts, ruining an apparent deal in which Kaminski would be backed for the job. McMillan-Scott said he would appeal the expulsion decision, adding that he would not be made a "scapegoat" for widespread criticism of the Conservatives for forming the new alliance. "After 42 years in the party, 25 as an MEP and four years as Leader of the MEPs the party should trust me not to make political mistakes," he said in a statement Tuesday, confirming the expulsion. Conservatives leader David Cameron, widely tipped to win a general election within nine months, pulled his MEPs from the centre-right European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is the largest transnational European political party. Founded in 1976, the EPP includes Christian Democratic and conservative parties in Europe. after elections in June, deeming it to be too EU-friendly. The new European Conservatives and Reformist Group (ECR ECR Efficient Consumer Response ECR European Congress of Radiology ECR Electron Cyclotron Resonance ECR El Camino Real (Kings Highway; California) ECR Electronic Cash Register ECR East Coast Radio (South Africa) ) wants to see decision-making powers concentrated more in the member states and less in Brussels. With 54 MEPs signed up from eight countries, the ECR is the fifth largest group in the 736-seat European legislature. 
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