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How Stella Creasy helped boost Bernard Jenkin’s Eurosceptic cause

Although Stella Creasy has proved to be one of the most vocal pro-European politicians, the Labour MP may have unwittingly managed to convince one Tory MP of the cons that come from remaining in the EU.

David Cameron is facing a potential Commons defeat over the ‘tampon tax’ after a group of Eurosceptic Tory MPs decided to vote with Labour to demand an end to the EU regulated tax on sanitary items. While the amendment is tabled by Labour’s Paula Sheriff, Bernard Jenkin is one of several Tory MPs who have jumped on it, in the hope that they can use it to gain a wider renegotiation of the UK’s relationship with the European Union.

With Bernard Jenkins leading the charge, it has come apparent that it was none other than Creasy who inspired him to fight this particular battle. When Creasy was a schoolgirl, she suggested to Jenkin that the VAT on tampons was unfair, after he gave a talk at her school:

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Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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