2004 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom

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European Parliament election in the United Kingdom, 2004
← 1999 10 June 2004 2009 →
All 78 of the United Kingdom's seats
in the European Parliament
Turnout 38.5% [1] Increase14.5%
  First party Second party
  160x160px 160x160px
Leader Michael Howard Tony Blair
Party Conservative Labour
Alliance EPP–ED PES
Leader since 6 November 2003 21 July 1994
Last election 36 seats, 33.5% 29 seats, 26.3%
Seats before 35‡ 25‡
Seats won 27 19
Seat change Decrease8* Decrease6*
Popular vote 4,397,087 3,718,683
Percentage 25.9% 21.9%
Swing Decrease7.6% Decrease4.4%
  Third party Fourth party
  Charles Kennedy MP (cropped).jpg
Leader Roger Knapman Charles Kennedy
Party UKIP Liberal Democrat
Alliance ID ALDE
Leader since 5 October 2002 9 August 1999
Last election 3 seats, 6.5% 10 seats, 11.9%
Seats before 2‡ 10‡
Seats won 12 12
Seat change Increase10* Increase2*
Popular vote 2,650,768 2,452,327
Percentage 15.6% 14.4%
Swing Increase9.1% Increase2.6%
320px
Colours denote the winning party, as shown in the results tables *Seat change has been adjusted to allow for direct comparison with the results from the 1999 election.[2]

‡Notional 1999 results
Leader of Largest Party before election

Michael Howard
Conservative

 Subsequent Leader of Largest Party

Michael Howard
Conservative

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The European Parliament election, 2004 was the United Kingdom's part of the wider European Parliament election, 2004 which was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union. The United Kingdom's part of this election was held on Thursday 10 June 2004. The election also coincided with the 2004 local elections and the London Assembly and mayoral elections. In total, 78 Members of the European Parliament were elected from the United Kingdom using proportional representation.

The Conservative Party and the Labour Party both polled poorly. The Conservatives experienced their second-lowest ever recorded vote share in a national election (even less than their 1832 nadir, although the party would do worse still in the 2014 election), and Labour their lowest since 1918. The UK Independence Party (UKIP) saw a large increase in support, increasing its number of MEPs from 3 to 12 and on popular vote pushed the Liberal Democrats, who themselves had increased their representation from 10 to 12 seats into fourth place. In Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin beat the SDLP in the polls and took its first Northern Ireland seat.

Background

Electoral system

The United Kingdom elected 78 Members of the European Parliament using proportional representation. The United Kingdom was divided into twelve multi-member constituencies. The eleven of these regions which form Great Britain used a closed-list party list system method of proportional representation, calculated using the D'Hondt method. Northern Ireland used the Single Transferable Vote (STV). As a consequence of the 2004 enlargement of the European Union, the number of seats allocated to the United Kingdom was fewer than in 1999.

It was the first European election to be held in the United Kingdom using postal-only voting in four areas: the North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, and East Midlands regions.[3]

Regional seat allocations

A combination of the effects of the Treaty of Nice and the 2004 enlargement of the European Union meant that the number of seats allocated to the United Kingdom for the 2004 election was reduced from the 87 MEPs allocated for the 1999 election to 78 MEPs.[4][5]

As a result of the successful challenge of Matthews v United Kingdom before the European Court of Human Rights in 1999[6] residents of Gibraltar, voted in the European Parliament election for the first time, as part of the South West England region.[7]

Changes in regional seat allocations[8]

Constituency Representation
in 1999		 Representation
in 2004		 Net Gain/Loss
East Midlands 6 6 0
East of England 8 7 -1
London 10 9 -1
North East England 4 3 -1
North West England 10 9 -1
Northern Ireland 3 3 0
Scotland 8 7 -1
South East England 11 10 -1
South West England1 7 7 0
Wales 5 4 -1
West Midlands 8 7 -1
Yorkshire and the Humber 7 6 -1
Overall 87 78 -9

1 Includes Gibraltar, the only British overseas territory which is part of the EU.

Results

File:European Parliament election, 2004 (United Kingdom).svg
Partial map, showing most popular party by counting area on Great Britain only.

Turnout for all the regions was 37.6% on an electorate of 45,309,760[citation needed]. The Conservatives and Labour both polled poorly. The Conservatives, although getting a vote share 4.1% greater than Labour, experienced their lowest vote share in a national election since 1832. Labour's vote share was its lowest since 1918. Labour's decline in votes was regarded as being largely due to widespread public dissatisfaction about the Iraq War and, as with the Conservatives, the increased popularity of UKIP. UKIP saw a large increase in support, increasing its number of MEPs from 3 to 12, drawing level with the Liberal Democrats, who themselves had increased their representation from 10 to 12 seats. UKIP polled higher than the Liberal Democrats and pushing them into fourth place.

Turnout was lowest in Scotland, which did not hold local elections on the same day. In Scotland, Labour topped the poll, followed by the SNP. The Conservative Party's share of the vote declined by 2 percent, making it the region with the smallest swing against them.[8]

Wales was the only region were Labour increased its share of the vote compared to 1999. The Conservatives managed to make gains pushing Plaid Cymru into third and whose share of the vote fell by 12 percentage points relative to 1999. Similarly UKIP narrowly beat the Liberal Democrats into fourth place. Wales was the region were the Green Party polled their lowest share of the vote.[8]

United Kingdom

Party Votes won  % of vote Loss/Gain Seats Loss/Gain†  % of seats
Conservative 4,397,090 25.9 -7.6 27 -8 34.6
Labour 3,718,683 21.9 -4.4 19 -6 24.4
UKIP 2,650,768 15.6 +9.1 12 +10 15.4
Liberal Democrat 2,452,327 14.4 +2.6 12 +2 15.4
Green 948,588 5.6 +0.3 2 +2 2.6
BNP 808,201 4.8 +3.8 0 0 0
Respect 252,216 1.5 New 0 0 0
SNP 231,505 1.4 -1.2 2 0 2.6
DUP 175,761 1.0 -0.8 1 0 1.3
Plaid Cymru 159,888 0.9 -0.8 1 0 1.3
Sinn Féin 144,541 0.9 -0.3 1 +1 1.3
English Democrats 130,056 0.8 New 0 0 0
Liberal 96,325 0.6 -0.3 0 0 0
Independent - Martin Bell 93,028 0.6 New 0 0 0
UUP 91,164 0.5 -0.6 1 0 1.3
SDLP 87,559 0.5 -1.3 0 -1 0
Scottish Green 79,695 0.5 -0.1 0 0 0
Scottish Socialist 61,356 0.4 New 0 0 0
Christian Peoples 56,771 0.3 New 0 0 0
Senior Citizens 42,861 0.3 New 0 0 0
Countryside Party 42,107 0.2 New 0 0 0
Independent - Herron 39,658 0.2 New 0 0 0
Independent - Gilliland 36,270 0.2 New 0 0 0
Pensioners 33,501 0.2 New 0 0 0
Christian Vote 21,056 0.1 New 0 0 0
ProLife Alliance 20,393 0.1 New 0 0 0
Forward Wales 17,280 0.1 New 0 0 0
Independent - Ellis 14,762 0.1 New 0 0 0
People's Party for Better Government 13,776 0.1 New 0 0 0
Peace 12,572 0.1 New 0 0 0
Socialist Environmental 9,172 0.1 New 0 0 0
Common Good 8,650 0.1 New 0 0 0
Independent - Neal 8,318 0.0 New 0 0 0
Scottish Wind Watch 7,255 0.0 New 0 0 0
Christian Democratic Party 6,821 0.0 New 0 0 0
Independent - Rhodes 5,671 0.0 New 0 0 0
Independent - Naisbitt 5,137 0.0 New 0 0 0
Green (NI) 4,810 0.0 New 0 0 0
Independent - Tait 3,624 0.0 New 0 0 0
Independent - Rogers 2,615 0.0 New 0 0 0
Independent - Shadmyraine 847 0.0 New 0 0 0
Total 16,443,397 — — 78 — —
All parties listed.

†Loss/gain figures for seats are losses/gains versus the 1999 notional result, as the number of MEPs overall fell.

Great Britain

Summary of the election results for Great Britain[2]

Party Votes won  % of vote Loss/Gain Seats Loss/Gain†  % of seats
Conservative 4,397,090 26.7 -9.0 27 -8 36.0
Labour 3,718,683 22.6 -5.4 19 -6 25.3
UKIP 2,650,768 16.1 +9.2 12 +10 16.0
Liberal Democrat 2,452,327 14.9 +2.3 12 +2 16.0
Green 948,588 5.8 +0.1 2 +2 2.7
BNP 808,201 4.9 +3.9 0 0 0
Respect 252,216 1.5 New 0 0 0
SNP 231,505 1.4 -1.3 2 0 2.7
Plaid Cymru 159,888 1.0 -0.9 1 0 1.3
English Democrats 130,056 0.8 New 0 0 0
Liberal 96,325 0.6 -0.3 0 0 0
Independent - Martin Bell 93,028 0.6 New 0 0 0
Scottish Green 79,695 0.5 -0.1 0 0 0
Scottish Socialist 61,356 0.4 New 0 0 0
Christian Peoples 56,771 0.3 New 0 0 0
Senior Citizens 42,861 0.3 New 0 0 0
Countryside Party 42,107 0.3 New 0 0 0
Independent - Herron 39,658 0.2 New 0 0 0
Pensioners 33,501 0.2 New 0 0 0
Christian Vote 21,056 0.1 New 0 0 0
ProLife Alliance 20,393 0.1 New 0 0 0
Forward Wales 17,280 0.1 New 0 0 0
Independent - Herron 14,762 0.1 New 0 0 0
People's Party for Better Government 13,776 0.1 New 0 0 0
Peace 12,572 0.1 New 0 0 0
Common Good 8,650 0.1 New 0 0 0
Independent - Neal 8,318 0.1 New 0 0 0
Scottish Wind Watch 7,255 0.0 New 0 0 0
Christian Democratic Party 6,821 0.0 New 0 0 0
Independent - Rhodes 5,671 0.0 New 0 0 0
Independent - Naisbitt 5,137 0.0 New 0 0 0
Independent - Tait 3,624 0.0 New 0 0 0
Independent - Rogers 2,615 0.0 New 0 0 0
Independent - Shadmyraine 847 0.0 New 0 0 0
Total 16,443,397 — — 75 — —
All parties listed.

†Loss/gain figures for seats are losses/gains versus the 1999 notional result, as the number of MEPs overall fell.

Gibraltar

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Main article: European Parliament election, 2004 (Gibraltar)

Gibraltar participated in the United Kingdom's election for the first time in 2004 as part of the South West England constituency. Gibraltar is a British overseas territory (BOT) and therefore is under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United Kingdom but does not form part of it.[9] Gibraltar is however part of the EU, the only BOT to be so. Following however, the result of the successful challenge of Matthews v United Kingdom before the European Court of Human Rights in 1999[6] residents of Gibraltar were given the right to vote in the European Parliament elections. The British government decided not to give Gibraltar its own seat due to its small electorate of just over 20,000 which would have meant with just one seat Gibraltar would have been over-represented by about 30 times the average.[7]

None of the main Gibraltar political parties contested the election, so voters chose from United Kingdom party lists. However, Lyana Armstrong-Emery of Gibraltar's Reform Party had a place on a joint list with the Green Party. In addition both the leader of the Conservative Party, Michael Howard, and his deputy, Michael Ancram, campaigned in Gibraltar.[10]

Turnout in Gibraltar was 57.5%, higher than the 37.6% for the South West England electoral region as a whole.[11] The Conservative Party polled over two-thirds of the Gibraltar vote, with no other party exceeding 10% support.

Northern Ireland

File:European Parliament election, 2004-2014 (Northern Ireland, UK).svg
Map of Northern Irish results

Turnout in Northern Ireland was 51.2%.[12] Sinn Féin beat the SDLP in the polls and took its first Northern Ireland seat. Sinn Féin also won a seat in the corresponding elections in the Republic of Ireland.[13] Sinn Féin and the DUP increased their shares of the vote relative to the 1999 European Parliament elections, while the shares for both the SDLP and the UUP fell.[8] This was also the final election in which a Unionist candidate topped the poll in Northern Ireland.[14] Jim Allister of the DUP and Bairbre de Bruin of Sinn Féin were elected in the first round while Jim Nicholson of the UUP was elected in the third stage, after the votes of the other candidates were reallocated.[8]

Summary of the election results for Northern Ireland[15]

Party Candidate(s) Seats Loss/Gain First Preference Votes
Number  % of vote
DUP Jim Allister 1 Steady 175,761 31.9
Sinn Féin Bairbre de Brún 1 Increase 1 144,541 26.3
UUP Jim Nicholson 1 Steady 91,164 16.6
SDLP Martin Morgan 0 Decrease 1 87,559 15.9
Independent John Gilliland 0 Steady 36,270 6.6
Socialist Environmental Eamon McCann 0 Steady 9,172 1.6
Green (NI) Lindsay Whitcroft 0 Steady 4,810 0.9
Total 549,277
Turnout 51.2%[12]

MEPs defeated

Labour

Conservative

Plaid Cymru

Aftermath

Both Tony Blair and Michael Howard faced criticism for their results with then Secretary of State for Health John Reid calling the results "disappointing" for Labour and "disastrous" for the Conservatives.[19]

Shortly after the election UKIP's Robert Kilroy-Silk, who was credited with raising the profile of the party during the election, was interviewed by Channel 4 television about leadership ambitions, Kilroy-Silk did not deny having ambitions to lead the party, but stressed that Roger Knapman would lead it into the next general election.[citation needed] However, the next day, on Breakfast with Frost, he criticised Knapman's leadership.[20] After further disagreement with the leadership, Kilroy-Silk resigned the UKIP whip in the European Parliament on 27 October 2004.[21] Initially, he remained a member, while seeking a bid for the party leadership.[22] However, this was not successful and he resigned completely from UKIP on 20 January 2005, calling it a "joke"[23] Two weeks later, he founded his own party, Veritas, taking a number of UKIP members, including both of the London Assembly members, with him.[24]

UKIP formed a new European Parliament Group, Independence/Democracy which was co-chaired by Nigel Farage and Hanne Dahl.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights: Matthews v the United Kingdom
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ The 14 Territories
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. ()
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ The 2004 European Election
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ "Kilroy-Silk wants UKIP leadership", Daily Telegraph, 3 October 2004
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Manifestos and documents

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