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28th Mar 2024

United Kingdom and the European Parliament elections 2004

EUOBSERVER / EP-elections 2004 - The balance of power in the UK for European elections is in stark contrast to the national political scene. Nationally, the centre-left Labour party has a huge majority in the House of Parliament, having defeated the opposition centre-right conservatives in two successive elections.

But it is the Tories that hold sway in Brussels and Luxembourg with 34 MEPs compared to 28 for Labour.

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  • The balance of power in Brussels does not match that in Westminster (Photo: European Commission)

In the forthcoming election - due to be held on 10 June in the UK - this pattern looks set to continue for two main reasons.

First, the Tories recently chose a new leader - Michael Howard - to replace the unpopular Iain Duncan Smith. The momentum that Mr Howard has brought to the party has seen its ratings rise in the polls and is set to be reflected in the European elections.

Secondly, Labour leader Tony Blair has suffered a backlash for standing "shoulder to shoulder" with US President George Bush in Iraq - a move that was unpopular in the UK. Voters may use the European elections to deliver a warning to Mr Blair ahead of national elections due next year.

The third mainstream party, the Liberal Democrats, currently hold 11 seats in the Brussels and Strasbourg hemicycles and should hold these gains or maybe improve slightly at the expense of Labour.

Smaller parties

Two smaller parties - the Greens and the UK Independence Party (UKIP) are also hoping to gain ground in the forthcoming elections.

The Greens/EFA are hoping to double their current tally of six seats and UKIP will strive to hold their three seats.

UKIP - which campaigns for the UK to withdraw from the European Union - currently has three seats and expects to increase that number to ten, according to its website. Some political commentators believe that with the Tories appearing to soften their traditional hardline eurosceptic stance, UKIP could take seats away from them, but, with the number of seats in the UK declining by nine, the fight will be fierce.

Tories hold key to balance of power

The UK conservatives promise to play a big role in the future balance of the European Parliament.

Conservative leader Michael Howard recently struck a deal with the Chairman of the European People's Party (EPP) Hans-Gert Pottering, which would allow the Conservative eurosceptics to pursue a eurosceptic agenda whilst remaining within the group.

This has concerned other members of the EPP who believe that the deal is nothing but a cynical attempt to remain the largest political group after the elections.

Conversely, it has also led eurosceptic parties from some of the new member states - notably the Czech Republic and Poland - to push for a deal with the Conservatives.

Apathetic Brits

Turnout in the UK was by far the lowest in the European Union in 1999 - at 23.3 percent, less than half the average.

And most people fear a low turnout in the UK this year - with some predicting that it could even drop down to below 20 percent. More people voted in the popular reality TV series Big Brother than in the European elections in 1999, something Pat Cox, President of the European Parliament, has called "profoundly disturbing".

What is also profoundly disturbing is the possibility of low turnout leading to extremist groups such as the British National Party (BNP) gaining a hold in the European Parliament.

British political parties also have a less-than-impressive record when it comes to selecting women to represent the UK in the EU. Less than a quarter of UK MEPs are females - 21 out of 87. The most guilty party is the UK conservatives, where only three of the members are women.

British beacons

A host of European parliament leaders, influential members and characters come from the UK.

Arguably the most senior British MEP is the leader of the Liberal group in the parliament, Graham Watson MEP. Mr Watson recently hit the headlines by meeting current Commission President Romano Prodi and François Bayrou, head of the Union for French Democracy with the possibility of forming a new federalist group in the European Parliament.

Another senior Brit is Richard Balfe, who has been quaestor of the European Parliament since 1994. The quaestor is responsible for administrative matters relating directly to MEPs.

On the pro/anti EU debate, the eurosceptics in the Conservatives are better placed than europhiles, with Geoffrey Van Orden, Roger Helmer, Neil Parish, Philip Bushill-Matthews, Timothy Kirkhope and Jonathan Evans heading their respective constituency lists. Two of the most hardline eurosceptics in the Parliament, Chris Heaton-Harris - who is in the powerful budgetary control committee, and Roger Helmer, are also running again.

Pro-European Liberal MEP Andrew Duff made a name for himself as a member of the European Convention that drew up the Constitution while Labour MEP Gary Titley has made news for different reasons - he was one of the unfortunate recipients of a letter bomb during a campaign that targeted EU figures.

Other high-profile British MEPs include Glenys Kinnock - wife of Commission Vice-President Neil Kinnock, nobel-prize winning MEP from Northern Ireland John Hume, Baroness Nicholson, author of a recent critical report on Romania and Michael Cashman, former star of popular TV soap opera Eastenders.

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Due to enlargement the United Kingdom will only elect 78 MEPs in June, nine fewer than currently.

Number of MEPs to be elected: 78

Election day:10 June 2004

Turnout in EP-elections 1999:23.3%

Turnout in latest national election 7 june 2001:59.4%

Distribution of current MEPs in the European Parliament:

37 PPE-ED Conservative and Unionist Party (34) - Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party (2) - Ulster Unionist Party (1)

29 PSE Labour Party (28) - Social Democratic and Labour Party (Northern Ireland) (1) -

11 ELDR Liberal Democrat Party

- GUE/NGL

6 Verts/ALE Green Party (2) - Plaid Cymru - Parti of Wales (2) -

Scottish National Party (2) -

- UEN

3 EDD UK Independence Party

1 NI Democratic Unionist Party (Northern Ireland)

87 total (to be reduced to 78 MEPs due to enlargement of the European Union)

Updated 2 June 2004

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