Britain set to gain an extra MEP

Posted by Mark Pack on 21st July 2010; This entry is filed under Election law.
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A written answer this week confirmed that Britain’s quota of MEPs is about to increase by one:

European Parliament Elections

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 6 July 2010, Official Report, columns 6-7WS, on the European Parliament Transitionary Protocol, whether the Electoral Commission was consulted on the arrangements for electing a new UK MEP before the intergovernmental conference on 23 June 2010; and if he will make a statement. [8599]

Mr Lidington: The transitionary Protocol concerning the composition of the European Parliament is a technical change to the Treaty relating to numbers of MEPs. It allows 18 extra MEPs provided for by the Lisbon Treaty to take their seats now rather than in 2014. The UK receives an extra MEP as a result.

The Protocol does not determine how, or from which UK European parliamentary electoral region, the UK’s additional MEP should be elected; rather that the MEP should be elected using one of the methods set out in the Protocol. Therefore, no prior consultation of the Electoral Commission was needed. Details of the process to be undertaken to elect the UK’s extra MEP will be announced in due course, and the Electoral Commission will be consulted fully at the appropriate time, as required by the relevant legislation.

4 Comments

  1. Stuart July 21st, 2010 at 11:34 pm

    Does anyone know which party was next in line to win a Euro seat in each UK region/nation?

  2. Harry Hayfield July 21st, 2010 at 11:35 pm

    Had the Treaty of Lisbon come into force prior to these elections, the UK would have been entitled to a 73rd MEP. Were the Electoral Commission to perform a reallocation in keeping with the same procedures they used to allocate 72 MEPs, the extra MEP would have been allocated to the West Midlands constituency

    So therefore it does not take that much leap of imagination to say that the West Midlands will get this extra MEP, therefore the West Midlands regional result is as follows: Con win the first seat, UKIP win the second seat, Labour win the third seat, Conservatives win the fourth seat, Liberal Democrats win the fifth seat, UKIP win the sixth seat and Conservatives win the seventh seat (Con 3, UKIP 2, Lab 1, Lib Dem 1)

  3. Harry Hayfield July 21st, 2010 at 11:38 pm

    In answer to Stuart:

    East Midlands: Conservatives
    Eastern: Green Party
    London: Labour
    North East: UKIP
    North West: UKIP
    Scotland: SNP
    South East: Conservatives
    South West: Green
    Wales: Liberal Democrats
    Yorkshire: Labour

  4. Bill July 22nd, 2010 at 9:11 am

    Fingers crossed for Cymru… unlikely but you never know

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