THE silly season has started well before June's European elections. Conservative MEPs say that the European Parliament is trying to impose political correctness on all. The use of 'Mrs' and 'Miss' will be banned, they claim.
In fact, all that had happened is that a short paper has been produced to guide the parliament's officials and translators who have to write documents for people from 27 different countries.
It says that women and men should be treated equally. It should not be assumed that every airplane pilot is a man. It suggests that the word 'manager' not 'manageress' should be used when describing women with the job, 'nurse' not 'male nurse' when describing men. One sentence I note has not been quoted by those seeking to make trouble. It reads: "A woman's own wishes as to how she would like to be addressed should be respected."
My advice to Conservatives fighting the elections in June is to stop distorting the truth about how the EU works, and stop treating people like fools. Grow up! – Graham Watson, MPE for South West England and Gibraltar and leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in the European Parliament.