Prime Minister Theresa May’s failure to push through a Brexit deal ahead of this month’s EU elections, means Britain will now take part in them. Britons will be able to vote for who they want to represent them as MEPs in the European Parliament. The UK is divided into regions for the EU elections and each region has an allocated number of MEPs allocated. Candidates from key UK political parties are standing in the EU elections – but who can you vote for?
These are the regions Britain is divided into for the EU elections and how many MEPs each of them has:
East Midlands: 5
East of England: 7
London: 8
North East England: 3
North West England: 8
Northern Ireland: 3
Scotland: 5
South East England: 10
South West England: 6
Wales: 4
West Midlands: 7
Yorkshire and the Humber: 6
Who can I vote for in the EU elections?
All the main UK political parties are standing in the EU elections.
These are the UK parties you can vote for:
Brexit Party
Headed up by former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, the Brexit Party will stand in the upcoming EU elections.
While the Brexit Party is yet to release full details of its policies, it is determined to kill off any chance of a second referendum.
The Brexit Party has also pledged to push through Britain’s immediate exit from the EU if it wins the EU elections.
Change UK
Change UK started out as The Independent Group earlier this year when eight Labour MPs and three Tories left their parties.
The Remainer party’s campaign for the European elections involves the fight to “stop Brexit”.
Members include former Tory MP Anna Soubry, ex-Labour MP Chukka Umunna, former BBC Newsnight presenter Gavin Esler and Boris Johnson’s sister, Rachel Johnson.
Conservative
Theresa May’s party has been bracing itself to take part in the vote.
It remains unknown whether the Tories will put effort in to the campaign or whether there will be a manifesto, but they face a battering from the Brexit Party.
Among the Tories listed a candidates include a number of existing MEPs including Daniel Hannan, Sajjad Karim and Ashley Fox.
Green Party
The Greens have pledged to fight for Britain to remain in the EU within a “fairer, green and more democratic EU”.
Party leader Caroline Lucas said: “We have the most progressive vision for Britain’s place in Europe, and we will always stand up for real democracy.”
Among its candidates are leading anti-fracking campaigner Gina Dowding and Cleo Lake, who is Lord Mayor of Bristol.
Labour
Jeremy Corbyn’s party is due to finalise its manifesto at it’s ruling NEC on April 30.
Labour has faced chaos in the build-up amid splits over whether the party should back a second referendum.
Deputy leader Tom Watson has said the party “cannot sit on the fence” when going up against the likes of the Brexit Party.
Lib Dems
The party’s 100,000 members are up for the fight to stop Brexit.
The Lib Dems have selected 70 candidates and hopes to do better than in 2014 when it only polled with enough votes to send one representative to Brussels.
Mr Cable said: “We will fight these elections on a clear message: a Liberal Democrat vote is a vote to stop Brexit.”
Ukip
The UK Independence Party faces a tough test after it triumphed in the 2014 vote, but has faced heavy criticism since the arrival of new leader Gerard Batten.
The party has faced an exodus of senior figures and only three of the 24 MEPs that took seats five years ago – Mike Hookem, Mr Batten and Stuart Agnew – are on the list.
And this year they face competition from ex-leader Nigel Farage and his Brexit party.
There are also independent candidates who are standing in the vote.
Who can vote?
UK nationals are eligible to vote in the European elections, as with general elections.
But other EU citizens resident in the UK are also eligible for these elections despite being unable to vote in the general election.
You need to be 18 and over to vote in the EU elections.
You can check whether you are registered to vote in the EU elections HERE: /news/politics/1124304/European-elections-2019-vote-am-i-registered-check-registration-EU-election
The deadline to register for a postal vote in the EU elections has passed.
Who will win the EU elections?
The breakaway Brexit Party launched by former UKIP leader Nigel Farage is leading in the polls ahead of the EU vote.
While the Brexit Party is yet to reveal its full proposals it has pledged to push through an immediate UK exit from the EU if it wins.
The Brexit Party also wants to kill off any chances of a second referendum.
A recent YouGov poll which asked 1,630 UK adults who they would vote for in the EU elections from April 29 to April 30, put Brexit Party in the lead with 30 percent.
Labour was second after the Brexit Party at 21 percent, with the Tories trailing behind with a dismal 13 percent.
