Italy’s Populist 5 Star Movement Votes to Break from UKIP Group in EU Parliament

Italy’s anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) has voted to break ties with UKIP in the European Parliament.

Members of the populist group backed founder Beppe Grillo’s call to ditch the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy group and instead join the Europhile liberal bloc ALDE.

The move leaves UKIP’s group greatly weakened, reducing it to 27 MEPs from eight countries. The minimum for European Parliament funding is 25 MEPs from seven countries, putting the EFDD group perilously close to collapse.