Godfrey Bloom
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Godfrey Bloom is a Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber for the United Kingdom Independence Party. He was first elected in 2004.
He worked in the financial industry and is a former member of the Territorial Army.
In July of 2004, Godfrey Bloom's comments to the media provoked controversy. Shortly after being appointed to the European Parliament's women's rights committee on 20 July, Bloom gave an interview in which he said: "No self-respecting small businessman with a brain in the right place would ever employ a lady of child-bearing age. That isn't politically correct, is it, but it's a fact of life. The more women's rights you have, it's actually a bar to their employment". He then flippantly told journalists that he wanted to deal with women's issues because: "I quite simply feel that they don't clean behind the fridge. I represent Yorkshire women who always have dinner on the table when you get home. I am going to promote men's rights." Bloom's comments were variously described as "outrageous", "absolutely unacceptable" and "absolutely terrifying" by some of his fellow MEPs. In a later interview for the Guardian Unlimited website explained that he would like to overturn EU maternity legislation; "If you want to have a baby, you hand in your resignation and free up a job for another young lady", he said.
External links
- Official website (http://www.godfreybloommep.co.uk/)
- UKIP MEP in row over working women (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3912205.stm) (BBC)
- Ukip MEP: Pregnant women should resign (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1265336,00.html) (Guardian Unlimited)