9781526139146
1-5261-3914-6
This is the first study of the political activities of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), now the third largest group in the European Parliament. ECR has so far been largely dismissed as merely another Euro-sceptic faction by political scientists and Brussels policy-makers - yet this book argues that ECR ought instead to be recognised as the main voice for Conservatism in Strasbourg promoting 'Anglosphere' free market values and the role of NATO in international relations. Drawing on interviews with MEPs, this book is the first major in-depth analysis of ECR and its 'Euro-realist' agenda, covering its origins and development in the British Conservatives through to the role of member parties such as Law and Justice (PiS) from Poland. This book will be of interest to anyone with an interest in Conservative politics and the work of the European Parliament.