Mandates and the EPP

Was listening to the radio this morning and there was yet another discussion about the interminable affair of "When will Blair go?" (to which the answer is that he should stay as long as possible, to distract the Labour party inflicting more damage on the country). The Prime Minister has said that he has a mandate from the public to serve a third term, and he plans to do so.

This led me to think about the issue of David Cameron's "failure" to take Conservative MEPs out of the EPP. Although he had made a campaign pledge to do so, and therefore he has a mandate from Conservative members, the MEPs ran on the basis they were going to be part of the EPP grouping. So there appears to be a conflicting mandate - the one from Conservative members to take the MEPs out of the EPP, and the one the voters gave the MEPs on the basis they were going to be in the EPP.

In fact the truth of the matter it's a rather obscure issue that doesn't register with the bulk of voters.