What Britain is losing when its MEPs leave the European parliament for the final time

The EU’s legislature has long papered over the cracks of Britain’s constitution, argues Jon Stone

A British flag on a desk in the European parliament in Strasbourg (Reuters)

Britain’s MEPs went to work in Strasbourg for the last time this week: from the end of the month their jobs will no longer exist.

While MEPs still have a bit of work to do in Brussels – including voting on the very Brexit agreement that will make them redundant – the last Strasbourg sitting is symbolic. It is in the French base of the European parliament where the heavy lifting of legislating gets done.

The EU’s parliament is sometimes derided as a rubber stamp, and critics sometimes have a point.