No panto is complete without a dame, and the venerable Edward Mcmillan-Scott played the laughable dowager with great gusto in the opening matinée yesterday afternoon.

The classic (and simple) fairytale of electing a group leader was twisted and stretched somewhat by EM-S’s decision to put his own interests ahead of the interests of the Party and his constituents. In the original story, Michal Kamisnski would take the throne (namely the Vice-Presidency of the Parliament) and Timothy Kirkhope would battle Geoffrey van Orden for leadership of the ECR block.

However, the Tories’ old allies in the EPP-ED decided to punish the British Conservative Delegation by electing EM-S as Vice President, effectively denying the approved ECR candidate, Michal Kaminski the post. It’s a fairly ridiculous sort of group that plays such silly politics, and it’s a fairly ridiculous sort of “parliament” that facilitates nonsense like this.

Gallant as ever, Timothy Kirkhope stood aside as leader-designate of the ECR group and let Kaminski take the helm. Consequently, ECR is the first europarliamentary bloc with a leader elected from one of the accession states. Perhaps more importantly, he is a sound anglophile, eurosceptic and free marketeer. As Dan Hannan explains, “When Michal made his first speech as an MEP, he hymned the praises of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, to the unfeigned horror of the EPP. He is, in short, the closest thing to a British Tory outside the Carlton Club.”

Although an apparent hero won the day, the villain still had his revenge. Although EM-S had the Tory whip removed (quite rightly), he’s a five-year season ticket for a first-class seat on the gravy train. Perhaps more selfishly, he’s given more fuel to critics of the Tory European policy [both inside and outside the party] and shattered Cameron’s fragile facade of EU-unity.

By behaving in such a reckless and self-centred manner, EM-S has served only to prove that the European Parliament is little more than an irrelevant talking shop, little more than a third-rate panto for dames, jokers and villains.

=> Link to Tim Montgomerie on why EMS should be expelled