RESEARCH PAPER 99/57

2 JUNE 1999
European Parliament
Elections 1979 to 1994

This paper presents a summary of direct elections to

the European Parliament since 1979, in advance of
elections in June 1999. It concentrates on elections in
the UK, but covers some aspects of those in other EU
countries as well.

A research paper analysing the 1999 election results

will be published separately.

Richard Cracknell & Bryn Morgan

SOCIAL & GENERAL STATISTICS SECTION

HOUSE OF COMMONS LIBRARY

Recent Library Research Papers include:

99/40 The Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Bill [HL] [Bill 74 of 1998-99] 14.04.99
99/41 The Football (Offences and Disorder) Bill [Bill 17 of 1998-99] 14.04.99
99/42 The Road Haulage Industry: costs and taxes 19.04.99
99/43 Disability Rights Commission Bill [HL] [Bill 73 of 1998-99] 20.04.99
99/44 Unemployment by Constituency - March 1999 21.04.99
99/45 Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Bill [Bill 18 of 1998-99] 22.04.99
99/46 Local Elections - Proposals for Reform 28.04.99
99/47 Economic Indicators 04.05.99
99/48 Kosovo: Operation "Allied Force" 29.04.99
99/49 The Northern Ireland (Location of Victims' Remains) Bill 07.05.99
[Bill 92 of 1998-99]
99/50 Scottish Parliament Elections: 6 May 1999 11.05.99
99/51 Welsh Assembly Elections: 6 May 1999 12.05.99
99/52 The local elections of 6 May 1999 17.05.99
99/53 Unemployment by Constituency - April 1999 19.05.99
99/54 Institutional Reform in the European Union 20.05.99
99/55 Wind Power 26.05.99
99/56 Homicide Statistics 27.05.99

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ISSN 1368-8456
 Summary of main points

Elections to the European Parliament are due to take place in June 1999. These will be
the fifth set of elections to the European Parliament.
87 of the total 626 MEPs will be elected from the UK.
Between 1979 and 1994 elections in GB were on a first-past-the-post basis. From 1999 a
new regional list system will be used.
European election turnout in the UK is relatively low. In 1994 36% of the electorate
voted.
Had it been in place, the main beneficiary of the new electoral system in 1994 would have
been the Liberal Democrats, whose representation in the European Parliament would have
risen from 2 to 11. The Conservatives too would have increased their MEPs from 18 to
26.
 CONTENTS

I Introduction 7

II Elections since 1979 7

A. UK Elections to the European Parliament 9

B. By-elections 12

C. Elections in other countries 14

1. Method 14
2. Turnout 15
3. Composition of EP 16
III The 1999 Elections 18

A. The new election system in the UK 18

1. How the regional list system works 20
2. Applying the new system to previous results 22

Tables and figures

Table 1 Votes by party 1979 to 1994 9

Table 2 Share of vote by party 1979 to 1994 10
Table 3 UK MEPs by party 1979 to 1994 11
Table 4 By-elections for European Parliament seats 1979 to 1998 12
Table 5 Voter turnout across the EU (1979 to 1994) 15
Table 6 Political Groups by Country in the European Parliament 17
Table 7 Notional allocation of seats on the basis of 1994 Euro-elections 23
Table 8 Notional allocation of seats on the basis of 1997 General election 24

Figure 1 Turnout in 1994 EP elections 15

Figure 2 Political Groups in European Parliament 16
Figure 3 Electoral regions and seats 19
Figure 4 Example ballot paper 20
Figure 5 Hypothetical example of new electoral system 21
 RESEARCH PAPER 99/57

I Introduction
Elections will take place to the European Parliament throughout the EU between 10 and
13 June 1999. This paper sets out results of previous elections to the European
Parliament, largely for the UK, and provides some background to the electoral system
which is to be used in Great Britain for the first time nationally.

European Parliament Elections 1999

Polling Days
United Kingdom, Denmark, Netherlands Thursday, 10 June
(Polls open in UK 7 am - 10 pm )

Ireland Friday, 11 June

Austria, Belgium, France, Finland, Sunday, 13 June

Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg,
Portugal, Spain, Sweden

The Count in the UK

Verification of ballot papers will take place at UK Parliamentary constituency level on
Thursday, 10 June 1999 as soon as practicable after the polls close.

The count will not begin until the polling stations close at 9 pm on Sunday, 13 June across
Europe. Regional returning officers should be in a position to announce their results either
late in the evening of Sunday 13 June or in the early hours of Monday 14 June, depending
upon how long it has taken for the votes to be counted in their region.

II Elections since 1979

The first direct elections to the European Parliament took place in June 1979, when nine
European nations went to the polls to elect the members of a single Parliament.
Previously, members of the European Parliament had been delegates from national
parliaments. Direct elections have taken place at five-yearly intervals since then in 1984,
1989, 1994 and 1999.

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RESEARCH PAPER 99/57

The development of the European Parliament

The ECSC was given a 'parliamentary assembly', which met for the first time in
September 1952 in Strasbourg

25 March 1957: the six founding States created the European Economic Community
(EEC), through the Treaty of Rome (1957). The European Parliament then numbered
142 Members delegated by their national parliaments.

January 1973: The Europe of the Six became the Europe of the Nine with the
accession of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The European Parliament
increased in size to 198 Members.

June 1979: the European Parliament was elected by direct universal suffrage, 410
Members elected in the nine Member States.

January 1981: the accession of Greece to the Community's 10th Member State
increased the number of MEPs to 434.

January 1986: the accession of Spain and Portugal to the European Community
increased the number of MEPs to 518.

June 1994: fourth European Parliament elections by direct universal suffrage. The
number of Members rose to 567 to take account of German unification

3 January 1995: accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden. European Parliament

membership increased to 626 Members

Source: European Parliament The European Parliament: an overview [http://www1.europarl.eu.int]

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 RESEARCH PAPER 99/57

A. UK Elections to the European Parliament

Table 1 shows the number of votes for each party at euro-elections in the UK since 1979.
In Great Britain these were on a first-past-the-post basis, with constituencies comprising a
number of Westminster seats. In Northern Ireland they have been on the basis of a
system of single transferable vote - the table shows first preference votes only.

Table 1 Votes by party - 1979 to 1994

1979 1984 1989 1994

Great Britain

Labour 4,253,207 4,865,261 6,153,661 6,753,881

Conservative 6,508,493 5,426,821 5,331,098 4,268,539
Liberal Democrat (a) 1,691,531 1,358,145 (c) 944,861 2,557,887
Scottish National 247,836 230,594 406,686 487,237
Plaid Cymru 83,399 103,031 115,062 162,478
Green (b) 17,953 70,853 2,292,718 494,561
SDP 1,233,490 (c) 75,886
UK Independence 150,251
Natural Law 96,554
Liberal 100,500
Other 71,433 24,678 41,295 220,834
Total 12,873,852 13,312,873 15,361,267 15,292,722

Northern Ireland (first preference votes)

Democratic Unionist 170,688 230,251 160,110 163,246
SDLP 140,622 151,399 136,335 161,992
Ulster Unionist 125,169 147,169 118,785 133,459
Sinn Fein 91,476 48,914 55,215
Alliance 39,026 34,046 27,905 23,157
Ulster Independence Movement 7,858
Conservative 25,789 5,583
Workers Party 4,418 8,712 5,590 2,543
Natural Law 2,291
Other 92,316 22,264 11,383 4,523
Total 572,239 685,317 534,811 559,867

(a) SLD in 1989/Liberal SDP Alliance in 1984/Liberal Party in 1979

(b) Ecology Party in 1979 and 1984
(c) The Liberal/SDP Alliance total i 2,591,635

Sources: Research Paper 94/78

Craig & Mackie Europe Votes 3
Home Office Statistical Bulletin 26/84
Home Office European Assembly election expenses 1979

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 RESEARCH PAPER 99/57

Table 2 expresses votes for each party as a proportion of the totals in Great Britain and
Northern Ireland.

Table 2 Share of votes by party - 1979 to 1994

1979 1984 1989 1994

G reat Britain (% share in G B)

Labour 33% 37% 40% 44%

Conservative 51% 41% 35% 28%
Liberal Dem ocrat (a) 13% 10% (c) 6% 17%
Scottish National 2% 2% 3% 3%
Plaid Cym ru 1% 1% 1% 1%
Green (b) 0% 1% 15% 3%
SDP 9% (c) 0%
UK Independence 1%
Natural Law 1%
Liberal 1%
Other 1% 0% 0% 1%
Total 100% 100% 100% 100%

Northern Ireland (% share of first preference votes in NI)

Dem ocratic Unionist 30% 34% 30% 29%
SDLP 25% 22% 25% 29%
Ulster Unionist 22% 21% 22% 24%
Sinn Fein 13% 9% 10%
Alliance 7% 5% 5% 4%
Ulster Independence M ovem ent 1%
Conservative 5% 1%
W orkers Party 1% 1% 1% 0%
Natural Law 0%
Other 16% 3% 2% 1%
Total 100% 100% 100% 100%

(a) SLD in 1989/Liberal SDP Alliance in 1984/Liberal Party in 1979

(b) Ecology Party in 1979 and 1984
(c) The Liberal/SDP Alliance total i19%

Sources: Research Paper 94/78

Craig & M ackie Europe Votes 3
Hom e Office Statistical Bulletin 26/84
Hom eOffice European Assembly election expenses 1979

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 RESEARCH PAPER 99/57

Table 3 details the number of UK MEPs by party since 1979. The overall number has
risen from 81 to 87. Labour and Conservative representation following the 1994 elections
was roughly the reverse of the 1979 position. Around three-quarters of UK MEPs elected
in 1994 were Labour, similar to the proportion which was Conservative in 1979.

In 1994, the Liberal Democrats gained their first European Parliament seats Cornwall &
West Plymouth and Somerset & North Devon and the SNP increased their number of
MEPs from 1 to 2.

Table 3 UK M EPs by party - 1979 to 1994

1979 1984 1989 1994

G reat Britain
Labour (Number) 17 32 45 62
(% of UK M EPs) 21% 40% 56% 71%
Conservative (Number) 60 45 32 18
(% of UK M EPs) 74% 56% 40% 21%
Liberal Dem ocrat 2
Scottish National 1 1 1 2
Total 78 78 78 84

Northern Ireland
Dem ocratic Unionist 1 1 1 1
SDLP 1 1 1 1
Ulster Unionist 1 1 1 1
Total 3 3 3 3

Total UK 81 81 81 87

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RESEARCH PAPER 99/57

B. By-elections
Under the former electoral system by-elections were held following the death or loss of
office of a UK MEP. Results of all the by-elections to date are set out in Table 4. Under
the new system by-elections are less likely, as replacement MEPs will generally be drawn
from regional lists.

Table 4 By-elections for European Parliament seats 1979-1998

Parliament Date Constituency

1979-84
20.9.79 London SW caused by disqualification of Shelagh Roberts who at the
time of election held an office of profit under the Crown.
Change since 79
Votes % %
Shelagh Roberts Conservative 41,096 41.2 -10.8
Tony Hart Labour 32,632 32.7 0.5
Christopher Mayhew Liberal 23,842 23.9 10.7
Others (2) # 2,135 2.2 -0.4

Majority 8,464 8.5

Turnout 19.4

# W O Smedley Anti Common Market and Free Trade Party 1,830 1.9%
D Hussey Independent 305 0.3%
Source: Craig & Mackie, Europe Votes 1, Daily Telegraph 22.9.1979

1984-89
5.3.87 Midlands West caused by death of sitting MEP, Terry Pitt
Change since 84
Votes % %
John Bird Lab 59,761 39.2 -11.5
Michael Whitby Con 55,736 36.5 -0.7
Christopher Carter Lib/All 37,106 24.3 12.2

Majority 4,025 2.6

Turnout 28.2

15.12.88 Hampshire Central caused by death of sitting Conservative MEP,

Basil de Ferranti
Edward Kellett-Bowman Con 38,039 49.0 -2.8
John Arnold Lab 16,597 21.4 -2.6
David Chidgey SLD 13,392 17.3 -6.9
Martin Attlee SDP 5,952 7.7
Sally Penton Green 3,603 4.6

Majority 21,442 27.6

Turnout 14.1

Source: BBC Election Handbook 1989

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 RESEARCH PAPER 99/57

1994-99
12.12.96 Merseyside West caused by death of sitting Labour MEP,
Kenneth Stewart

Change since 94
Votes % %

Richard Corbett Lab 31,484 53.8 -4.6

Jeremy Myers Con 12,780 21.8 1.8
Kiron Reid Lib Dem 8,829 15.1 1.0
Others (3) # 5,448 9.3

Majority 18,704 32.0

Turnout 11.3

# Stephen Radford Liberal Party 4,050 6.9%

Simon Darby National Democrat 718 1.2%
John Collins Natural Law Party 680 1.2%
Source: Returning Officer

7.5.98 South Yorkshire caused by resignation/retirement of sitting Labour MEP,

Norman West
Linda McAvan Lab 62,275 52.2 -20.5
Diana Paulette-Wallis Lib Dem 22,051 18.5 10.6
Robert Goodwill Con 21,085 17.7 3.9
Peter Davies UKIP 13,830 11.6 9.0

Majority 40,224 33.7

Turnout 23.4

Source: Doncaster Elections Office

26-Nov-98 NE Scotland caused by death of sitting SNP MEP

Dr Allan Macartney

Ian Hudghton Scottish Nat 57,445 47.6 4.9

Struan Stevenenson Con 23,744 19.7 1.1
Kathleen Walkershaw Scot Lab 23,086 19.1 -9.3
Keith Raffan Scot Lib Dem 11,753 9.7 1.5
Harvey Duke Scot Socialist 2,510 2.1 n.a
Robin Harper Scot Green 2,067 1.7 0.5

Majority 33,701 27.9

Turnout 20.5

Source: Aberdeen Elections Office

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RESEARCH PAPER 99/57

C. Elections in other countries

1. Method

The system being used in Britain is similar to that being used in France, Germany,
Greece, Portugal and Spain to elect their MEPs. The change in the system in the GB
means all 626 MEPs will be elected under some form of proportional representation.

Country Form of proportional system1 Constituency

Austria DHondt system. Electors have one vote National
which can be cast either for a list or for a
candidate on list.
Belgium DHondt system. Votes can be cast either Regional
for a list or for a candidate on list.
Denmark DHondt system. Votes can be cast either National
for a list or for a candidate on list.
Finland DHondt system. National; there are 4 voting regions but the
vote is counted nationally. The parties can
put up candidates for the whole country or
for the 4 voting areas.
France DHondt system. Electors have one vote National
which is cast for a list only.
Germany Votes are counted at Federal level using the Federal and Land lists
Hare-Niemeyer system
Greece Electors have one vote which is cast for a National
list only. Votes are counted using the
Hagenbach-Bischoff method
Ireland Single transferrable vote Regional 4 constituencies
Italy Votes are counted at national level using the Regional 5 constituencies
Hare method. If a constituency list has not
obtained the quota they are transferred to
the constituency in which the party has
obtained a relative majority of the votes
cast.
Luxembourg Each voter has as many votes as there are National
seats; votes counted using the Hagenbach-
Bischoff method. Votes can be cast for a
whole list or distributed among individual
candidates.
Netherlands DHondt system. National
Portugal DHondt system; votes are cast for a list National
with a fixed order of candidates
Spain DHondt system; votes are cast for a list National
with a fixed order of candidates
Sweden Modified St Lag
e method National

Source: Andrew Duff Electoral Reform of the European Parliament (Federal Trust 1996)

1
An explanation of different methods of quota allocation is in Research Paper 98/112 (pp. 78-80)

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 RESEARCH PAPER 99/57

2. Turnout

Turnout in the UK at euro-elections has been relatively low by comparison with general
elections and european elections in other countries.

Figure 1 Turnout in 1994 EP elections

Belgium

Luxembourg

Italy

Greece

Austria

Finland

Germany

Spain

Denmark

France

Ireland

Sweden

UK

Netherlands

Portugal

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
%

Table 5 Voter turnout across the EU (1979 to 1994)

1979 1984 1989 1994

Austria - - - 68 (a)
Belgium # 92 92 91 91
Denmark 47 52 46 53
Finland - - - 60 (a)
France 61 57 49 53
Germany 66 57 62 60
Greece 79 (b) 77 80 71
Ireland 64 48 68 44
Italy 86 84 82 75
Luxembourg # 89 87 87 89
Netherlands 58 51 47 36
Portugal - 72 (c) 51 36
Sweden - - - 42 (a)
Spain - 69 (c) 55 59
UK 32 33 36 36

EU (average) 63 61 59 57

(a) 1996
(b) 1981
(c) 1987
# mandatory voting

Source: European Parliament Election Facts http://www.europarl.eu/int/election/UK

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RESEARCH PAPER 99/57

3. Composition of EP

a. Women

There are 169 women MEPs in the European Parliament, 27% of the total membership.
Female representation ranges from 50% for Finland to 14% for Italy. The UK currently
has 17 female MEPs out of a total representation of 87, equivalent to 20%.

b. Political Groups

MEPs do not sit in national delegations in the Parliament, but in multinational political
groups. The largest group is the European Socialists, which includes the British Labour
MEPs. Conservative MEPs sit with the second largest group, the European Peoples'
Party. Britain's three Liberal Democrat MEPs are members of the European Liberal
Group, while two Scottish Nationalist MEPs sit with the European Radical Alliance. The
other political groups are: the Union for Europe Group; the Group of the European United
Left/Nordic Green Left; the Greens; the Independent Europe of the Nations group; and
Independent MEPs.

Figure 2
Political Groups in the European Parliament

Independents
Independent Europe of the Nations
6%
3%
European Radical Alliance
3%
Greens
4%
Party of European Socialists
European United Left/Nordic 34%
Green Left
5%

Union for Europe

6%

European Liberal, Democrat

Reform Party
7%

European People's Party

32%

The composition of the groups by country is shown in Table 6, overleaf:

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 RESEARCH PAPER 99/57

Table 6 Political Groups by Country in the European Parliament

Pre-June 1999 elections

EUL/ Country
Country PES EPP ELDR UFE NGL Greens ERA I-EN Ind Total

Austria 6 7 1 - - 1 - - 6 21
Belgium 6 7 6 - - 2 1 - 3 25
Denmark 4 3 5 - - - - 4 - 16
Finland 4 4 5 - 2 1 - - - 16
France 16 11 1 18 7 - 12 10 12 87
Germany 40 47 - - - 12 - - - 99
Greece 10 9 - 2 4 - - - - 25
Ireland 1 4 1 7 - 2 - - - 15
Italy 19 35 4 4 5 3 2 - 15 87
Luxembourg 2 2 - 1 - - 1 - - 6
Netherlands 7 9 10 2 - 1 - 2 - 31
Portugal 10 9 - 3 3 - - - - 25
Spain 21 30 2 - 9 - 2 - - 64
Sweden 7 5 3 - 3 4 - - - 22
UK 61 17 3 - 1 1 2 1 1 87
Group Total 214 199 42 36 34 27 20 17 37 626

Source: Vachers European Companion (updated to take account of November 1998 by-election)

PES Party of European Socialists The largest group in the Parliament. It comprises members from all
EU states, including British Labour MEPs and John Hume from the SDLP.

EPP The European Peoples Party has members from all EU states. Mainly comprises Christian
Democrat parties but also includes British Conservatives who are affiliated but not full members of the
Group. Also includes Fine Gael members from Ireland and the Forza movement from Italy.

ELDR The European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party. Has its largest membership from the
Netherlands as well as British Liberal Democrats.

UFE Union for Europe. Membership includes: French former Guallist MEPs, Fianna Fail Irish members,
Greek members from the Political Spring party, Centre Party Portuguese members.

UL/NGL The Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left. Comprises Green/Left
parties from Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Spain and Sweden as well as members of Communist parties
from France, Greece and Portugal.

Greens The Greens, with representatives from 9 member states (including one elected Labour Member
form the UK)
ERA The European Radical Alliance. Based around the French Radical Party; also includes Scottish
Nationalist MEPs and members of Spanish and Belgian regional parties.

I-EN The Independent Europe of the Nations Groups. Composed of French members who led the
opposition in France to the Maastricht Treaty, Danish anti-marketeers, two Dutch members from smaller
parties and Jim Nicholson of the Ulster Unionists.

Ind Independents. Includes French and Belgian National Front Members, the Italian Lega Nord and Ian
Paisley.

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RESEARCH PAPER 99/57

III The 1999 Elections

A. The new election system in the UK
In Great Britain, elections have previously been on a first-past-the-post basis. The 1999
elections will be held under a regional list system. This requires multi-member
constituencies where the voter chooses between the lists of different parties, but cannot
normally reorder the list of candidates, although some variants exist (for example
Belgium) where some preference for individuals can be given. There were a series of
debates and votes during the passage of the legislation on the merits or otherwise of an
open list system, where voters could indicate personal preferences for particular
candidates2. The Act, as passed under the Parliament Acts procedure, introduced the
closed list procedure.

Seats in the constituency are allocated between the parties according to their share of the
vote and the results are broadly proportional to the vote share. The d'Hondt quota is used
to allocate seats, and this is the same quota as used for the additional member aspect of
the elections for the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. A worked example of the
system is shown in Figure 5 (page 21). Individual candidates may stand as well as
registered parties, but there are expected to be no more than 10 individuals standing in
England.

The total number of MEPs in the UK remains the same at 87, (71 England, 8 Scotland, 5
Wales, 3 Northern Ireland). However European Parliament constituencies as known up to
now cease to exist, except in Northern Ireland which retains its STV voting system.
Instead Scotland and Wales now form one single electoral region each and MEPs for
these electoral regions no longer have territorial constituencies, but represent the electoral
region as a whole. England is divided into nine regions based on the current Government
Offices for the Regions, except for combining Merseyside and the North West. Between
6 and 11 MEPs will be returned for each English region, dependent on the electorate of
the region. The regions and the number of MEPs are illustrated in figure 3:

2
see Research Paper no 98/102 The European Parliamentary Elections Bill for further details

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 RESEARCH PAPER 99/57

Figure 3 Electoral regions, seats and electorates.

Scotland
8 seats

North
East
Northern 4 seats
Ireland Yorkshire
3 seats & the
Humber
7 seats
East
Midlands
North West 6 seats
10 seats
Eastern
8 seats

West
Midlands
8 seats

Wales
5 seats

South
London
West South East
10 seats
7 seats 11 seats

European Electors
Region Electors Seats per seat

England 37,033,434 71 521,598

East Midlands 3,195,665 6 532,611
Eastern 4,053,900 8 506,738
London 4,972,495 10 497,250
North East 1,969,966 4 492,492
North West 5,209,540 10 520,954
South East 6,023,991 11 547,636
South West 3,777,497 7 539,642
West Midlands 4,034,992 8 504,374
Yorkshire & The Humber 3,795,388 7 542,198
Wales 2,229,826 5 445,965
Scotland 4,015,399 8 501,925
Northern Ireland 1,202,929 3 400,976
UK 44,481,588 87 511,283

Source: UK Electoral Statistics 1999, ONS

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1. How the regional list system works

Political parties will put forward lists of candidates in their preferred order. Individual
independent candidates will also be able to stand. On election day, voters will cast one
vote. They can vote either for a party list or for an independent candidate. The ranking
order of candidates on a party list cannot be changed.

On completion of the poll, votes for each individual candidate and each party will be
counted. The first seat will be allocated to the individual or party with the highest
number of votes. If the seat is allocated to a party, it will go to the first candidate on that
party's list. The second seat will be allocated in the same way except that if the first seat
was allocated to a party, that party's total will be divided by two. The process will
continue until all the seats are allocated. At all stages, parties' original totals are divided
by the number of seats that party has already been allocated, plus one. If a party wins
more than one seat, its candidates will be elected in the order in which they appear on the
party list.

An example ballot paper is reproduced in Figure 4.

Figure 4 example ballot paper

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 RESEARCH PAPER 99/57

Figure 5 Hypothetical example of the new electoral system

The following example shows how the seats would be allocated in a 7-member region with 1
million votes cast:

Stage 1
Labour (total) 380 000
Conservative (total) 300 000
Liberal Democrat (total) 180 000
Independent candidate 140 000
The first seat is allocated to the candidate at the top of the Labour list.

Stage 2
Labour (divided by 2) 190 000
Conservative 300 000
Liberal Democrat 180 000
Independent candidate 140 000
The second seat is allocated to the candidate at the top of the Conservative list.

Stage 3
Labour (divided by 2) 190 000
Conservative (divided by 2) 150 000
Liberal Democrat 180 000
Independent Candidate 140 000
The third seat is allocated to the candidate in second place on the Labour list.

Stage 4
Labour (divided by 3) 126 666
Conservative (divided by 2) 150 000
Liberal Democrat 180 000
Independent candidate 140 000
The fourth seat is allocated to the candidate at the top of the Liberal Democrat list.

Stage 5
Labour (divided by 3) 126 666
Conservative (divided by 2) 150 000
Liberal Democrat (divided by 2) 90 000
Independent candidate 140 000
The fifth seat is allocated to the candidate in second place on the Conservative list.

Stage 6
Labour (divided by 3) 126 666
Conservative (divided by 3) 100 000
Liberal Democrat (divided by 2) 90 000
Independent candidate 140 000
The sixth seat is allocated to the independent candidate.

Stage 7
Labour (divided by 3) 126 666
Conservative (divided by 3) 100 000
Liberal Democrat (divided by 2) 90 000
The seventh seat is allocated to the candidate in third place on the Labour list

Final result
Labour 3 seats
Conservative 2 seats
Liberal Democrat 1 seat
Independent Candidate 1 seat

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RESEARCH PAPER 99/57

There is no longer to be a role for the Parliamentary Boundary Commissions. Instead the
Home Secretary considers the number of registered electors in the year preceding the next
EP election and make amendments in the number of MEPs for each region to ensure that
the ratio of registered electors to MEPs is as nearly as possible the same for every
electoral region in England3.

2. Applying the new system to previous results

a. 1994 European Elections

Table 7 looks at the results of the 1994 Elections to the European Parliament on the basis
of the new Electoral Regions. There are a number of European constituencies that are
partly contained within more than one Electoral Region4. In these cases, the seat has been
allocated to the region containing the majority of the electorate of the constituency. The
table compares the number of seats won in 1994 with the outcome under the proposed
system, assuming no change in voting behaviour.

The table shows that had the proposed system been in operation in 1994, Labour would
have won 43 seats, 19 fewer than the actual result while the Conservatives would have
won 26, a gain of 8. The Liberal Democrats would have gained 9 seats from the change,
and the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru would have both gained one seat.

Although the result is more in proportion to the number of votes cast, Labour with 44% of
the vote would have still won 51% of the seats.

b. 1997 General Election

Table 8 looks at notional results for European Elections on the basis of 1997 General
Election results by Electoral Region. Again, Labour would win most seats with 42, the
Conservatives would have won 28, the Liberal Democrats 12 and the Scottish National
Party 2. Both Labour and the Conservatives would have had a larger share of MEPs than
they did of votes.

3
There is no provision in the Bill to make adjustments to the number of MEPs for Scotland, Wales, or
Northern Ireland
4
These are: Bedfordshire & Milton Keynes (included within South East but partly in Eastern), Cleveland
& Richmond (Yorkshire & The Humber, North East), Itchen Test & Avon (South East, South West),
Lincolnshire & Humberside (East Midlands, Yorkshire & The Humber), Peak District (East Midlands,
West Midlands), London South & Surrey East (London, South East), The Cotswolds (South West,
South East), Staffordshire West & Congleton (West Midlands, North West), Staffordshire East and
Derby (West Midlands, East Midlands)

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Table 7

Notional allocation of seats on the basis 1994 European Election Results by Electoral Region

Con Lab LD SNP/PC Green Other Total

% of votes

East Midlands 30.4% 49.7% 13.6% .. 3.8% 2.4% 100.0%

Eastern 33.5% 39.9% 19.0% .. 3.4% 4.1% 100.0%
London 29.8% 50.3% 12.1% .. 3.8% 4.0% 100.0%
North East 18.6% 65.9% 10.4% .. 2.9% 2.2% 100.0%
North West 27.1% 55.0% 12.1% .. 2.9% 3.0% 100.0%
South East 37.4% 26.1% 27.2% .. 3.8% 5.6% 100.0%
South West 32.9% 23.9% 32.7% .. 3.7% 6.7% 100.0%
West Midlands 29.0% 49.5% 13.9% .. 3.5% 4.0% 100.0%
Yorkshire & The Humber 24.4% 54.5% 15.2% .. 3.6% 2.3% 100.0%

England 30.5% 43.5% 18.4% .. 3.5% 4.1% 100.0%

Wales 14.6% 55.9% 8.7% 17.1% 2.0% 1.8% 100.0%
Scotland 14.5% 42.5% 7.2% 32.6% 1.6% 1.7% 100.0%
Great Britain 27.9% 44.2% 16.7% 4.2% 3.2% 3.7% 100.0%

Actual seats won

East Midlands 0 6 0 0 0 0 6
Eastern 2 6 0 0 0 0 8
London 1 9 0 0 0 0 10
North East 0 4 0 0 0 0 4
North West 0 10 0 0 0 0 10
South East 9 2 0 0 0 0 11
South West 4 1 2 0 0 0 7
West Midlands 1 7 0 0 0 0 8
Yorkshire & The Humber 1 6 0 0 0 0 7

England 18 51 2 0 0 0 71
Wales 0 5 0 0 0 0 5
Scotland 0 6 0 2 0 0 8
Great Britain 18 62 2 2 0 0 84

Seats won under new system

East Midlands 2 3 1 0 0 0 6
Eastern 3 4 1 0 0 0 8
London 3 6 1 0 0 0 10
North East 1 3 0 0 0 0 4
North West 3 6 1 0 0 0 10
South East 5 3 3 0 0 0 11
South West 3 2 2 0 0 0 7
West Midlands 2 5 1 0 0 0 8
Yorkshire & The Humber 2 4 1 0 0 0 7

England 24 36 11 0 0 0 71
Wales 1 3 0 1 0 0 5
Scotland 1 4 0 3 0 0 8
Great Britain 26 43 11 4 0 0 84

Notes: (a) Existing European constituencies have been allocated to Government Ofice Regions on a best-fit
basis. Cases where a constituency falls within more than one region are descibed in the text.

Sources: House of Commons Library Elections Data on disk

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RESEARCH PAPER 99/57

Table 8

Notional allocation of seats on basis of 1997 General Election results by Electoral Region

Con Lab LD SNP/PC Other Total

% of votes

East Midlands 34.9% 47.8% 13.6% .. 3.7% 100.0%

Eastern 39.5% 38.6% 17.1% .. 4.8% 100.0%
London 31.2% 49.5% 14.6% .. 4.7% 100.0%
North East 19.8% 64.0% 12.6% .. 3.6% 100.0%
North West 27.6% 53.6% 14.5% .. 4.4% 100.0%
South East 41.9% 29.1% 23.3% .. 5.7% 100.0%
South West 36.7% 26.4% 31.3% .. 5.5% 100.0%
West Midlands 33.7% 47.0% 13.8% .. 5.5% 100.0%
Yorkshire & The Humber 28.0% 51.9% 16.0% .. 4.1% 100.0%

England 33.7% 43.5% 17.9% .. 4.8% 100.0%

Wales 19.6% 54.7% 12.4% 9.9% 3.4% 100.0%
Scotland 17.5% 45.6% 13.0% 22.1% 1.9% 100.0%
Great Britain 31.5% 44.3% 17.2% 2.6% 4.5% 100.0%

Seats won under new system

East Midlands 2 3 1 0 0 6
Eastern 4 3 1 0 0 8
London 3 6 1 0 0 10
North East 1 3 0 0 0 4
North West 3 6 1 0 0 10
South East 5 3 3 0 0 11
South West 3 2 2 0 0 7
West Midlands 3 4 1 0 0 8
Yorkshire & The Humber 2 4 1 0 0 7

England 26 34 11 0 0 71
Wales 1 4 0 0 0 5
Scotland 1 4 1 2 0 8
Great Britain 28 42 12 2 0 84

Share of seats (%)

England 37% 48% 15% 0% 0% 100%

Wales 20% 80% 0% 0% 0% 100%
Scotland 13% 50% 13% 25% 0% 100%
Great Britain 33% 50% 14% 2% 0% 100%

Sources: House of Commons Library Elections Data on disk

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