Ousted British MEP linked with top EU job

By Martin Banks - 11th June 2009

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Former British Socialist MEP Richard Corbett has been linked with a top EU job.

Corbett, one of Labour's senior MEPs, was ousted by Andrew Brons, of the British National Party in the European elections.

According to the the Economist magazine, he is a possible candidate for the vacant post of head of the commission's office in the UK.

No decision has yet been taken but Corbett told this website that he would be interested in the job.

"The more I think about it, the more I like it," he said. "It is certainly something I could do and I do not rule it out."

According to the Charlemagne blog on the Economist website, Corbett, a renowned constitutional expert, would be the ideal candidate to help counter the notorious eurosceptic UK press.

Corbett, meanwhile, has launched a blistering attack on former UK government minister Hazel Blears who he accused of sabotaging Labour's chances in the local and European elections.

Blears quit as a cabinet minister on the eve of last week's elections, a move Corbett described as "treacherous."

Corbett lost to his BNP rival by 0.4 per cent, a margin he says he blames "entirely" on Blears' decision.

He said, "She threw a tantrum because she knew she would be dropped in the cabinet reshuffle. She did not have the decency, as others did, of announcing her decision to quit until after the elections.

"This was a real kick in the teeth, not just for me but for thousands of other Labour candidates in the local elections. It was absolutely disgraceful and amounts to treacherous disloyalty."

Another ousted UK Labour MEP, Glyn Ford, says he and other defeated Socialist UK MEPs "paid the price" for "mistakes" by UK premier Gordon Brown.

Like Corbett, Ford lost his seat in the election which saw the number of Labour MEP slashed from 19 in the last parliament to just 13, the same as the UK Independence Party which advocates Britain's withdrawal from the EU.