Trade unions, the Conservative party and backbench Labour MPs have all voiced their gripes about Europe recently. But there is news today of an unlikely group of critics who have joined the fray.
Never one to miss the opportunity for a bit of Europe-bashing, even if the source does verge on the bizarre, the Telegraph reports: "Mediums, psychics, tarot card readers and spiritual healers are predicting problems in the future over new European Union legislation which they fear could leave them open to litigation from sceptics." Presumably they don't mean Eurosceptics.
Currently, prosecutors must prove that a medium or spiritual healer intended to be fraudulent to secure a conviction under the 1951 Fraudulent Mediums Act. "But under the new European consumer protection directive, it will be the psychic's responsibility to prove they did not mislead or coerce credulous consumers," says the paper.
The Spiritual Workers Association is taking a petition to Downing Street today with some 10,000 signatures opposed to the change in the law.
David McEntee-Taylor, from the SWA, called it a "fundamantal attack on our right to practise our religion". "We want to stop the charlatans," he added, presumably not the Manchester indie band.
But, in a Pythonesque development, members of the SWA, founded just four months ago, are viewed as splitters by the long-established Spiritualists' National Union (SNU), which is backing the new legislation, according to the Independent.
In its editorial, the paper asks: "What we really want to know is: what goes on at the annual spiritualist trade union conference? And, more importantly still: why didn't they see all this coming?"
Please let us know whether you think spiritualists should be better regulated or whether this is another case of Europe poking its nose into matters best left alone.
