The Brexit Party is currently heading up polls in the race for the European Parliament on May 23, with 30 percent of the prospective vote. Lagging behind are the established parties, with Labour in second place at 21 percent of the vote and the Conservatives in third with 16 percent. Each part of the country will vote for the party they want to represent the UK in Parliament, but also for their councillor. Every region has at least one Member of the European Parliament (MEP) they vote for as a representative of the party.
Who is standing for MEP in your area?
Some 72 UK MEPS currently reside in the European Parliament, and there is one vacant seat.
Of these members, 43 are up for reelection, and 548 candidates are hoping to take their places.
There are 12 European electoral regions in the UK, each represented by between three and 10 MEPs.
The constituencies and number of MEPs for each are as follows:
South East England – 10
London – 8
North West England – 8
East of England – 7
West Midlands – 7
South West England (including Gibraltar) – 6
Yorkshire and the Humber – 6
Scotland – 6
East Midlands – 5
Wales – 4
North East England – 3
Northern Ireland – 3
There are 23 parties hoping to represent the UK, with independent candidates counted as one group.
Not everyone is up for reelection this year, as half of the MEPs in the West Midlands, South West and North West of the country are holding their seats.
Two Scottish MEPs are also not standing for reelection.
To find out who is standing for the MEP position in your area you can visit the European Parliament website here.
While the candidates and their parties are important, education secretary Damian Hinds said this election is acting as a second referendum on the EU.
In a recent interview with Andrew Marr, he said: “I don’t think anyone is in any doubt these are going to be difficult elections for us – that much has been clear from the very start.
“For some people, this is the ultimate protest vote opportunity.
“Actually, ironically this is, in a sense, for some people, this is the second referendum.”
