European Parliament Elections
Elections to the European Parliament have taken place since 1979, the first year in which the parliament was directly elected. (From 1973 to 1979, members were elected by national parliaments).
Since the 1999 election, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) representing England, Scotland and Wales have been elected in regional constituencies using the party list, a Closed list (i.e. candidates are chosen by parties). In Northern Ireland the Single Transferable Vote system has been used since 1979.
The United Kingdom is divided into twelve electoral regions, which are the three smaller nations (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), and nine Regions of England.
The use of proportional representation greatly increased the representation of minor parties. Until the 1999 election, the First Past the Post system was used, which had prevented parties with moderately large, but geographically spread out vote shares from receiving any seats. For example, in the 1989 election the Green Party received 2,292,718 votes, constituting a 15% vote share, but no seats. The European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999 changed the system in time for the 1999 election.
From 1979 to 1989, the United Kingdom had 81 MEPs (78 in England, Wales and Scotland, 3 in Northern Ireland). The European Parliamentary Elections Act 1993 increased the number to 87, adding five more seats in England and one more in Wales). The number was reduced to 78 for the 2004 election, and to 72 for the 2009 election.
| Year | Date | Members | Constituencies |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Parliament election, 1979 | 7 June 1979 | 81 | 79 |
| European Parliament election, 1984 | 14 June 1984 | 81 | 79 |
| European Parliament election, 1989 | 15 June 1989 | 81 | 79 |
| European Parliament election, 1994 | 9 June 1994 | 87 | 85 |
| European Parliament election, 1999 | 10 June 1999 | 87 | 12 |
| European Parliament election, 2004 | 10 June 2004 | 78 | 12 |
| European Parliament election, 2009 | 4 June 2009 | 72 | 12 |
Read more about this topic: Elections In The United Kingdom
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