Democracy in the United Kingdom - A Primer

How are people appointed to the top jobs in the EU ? This House of Commons Library webpage explains.

Newspaper coverage of the 2019 elections - https://electionsinthenews.blogspot.com/2019/05/european-elections-newspaper-coverage.html

After the European Elections in May 2019 the Electoral Commission produced a Report containing information on

• The experience of Voters
• Delivering the elections
• Campaigning at the elections

After the June 2024 European Elections the House of Commons Library produced a Research Briefing entitled EU elections 2024: Results and the new European Parliament covering information on:

• The work of the European Parliament
• Political Groups in the outgoing Parliament
• lection results and analysis
• The new European Parliament
• Election of Commission President and EU top jobs

The following will provide a helpful overview and further information on the history, institutions, roles and responsibilities of the European Union.  This should provide a factual basis for any personal interpretation, and for a critical evaluation of others' assessments of the European project.

• Europa (2019)Official website of the European Union
• University of Birmingham (2019) European official publications, In Official Publications.  This section of a larger guide includes links to specific parts of the Europa website (with brief explanations). 
• Usherwood and Pinder (2019) The European Union: A Very Short Introduction (ebook link: University of Birmingham members only.  See Amazon page for print and Kindle editions). 
• University of Pittsburgh (2019) European Union information.  Includes links to official websites for all the European Union institutions, including the European Parliament, and further Information on previous elections to the European Parliament. 

Studies and Analysis

• Regular opinions and ratings on what citizens think of Europe from Bertelsmann-Stiftung
• What the UK thinks - information on attitudes to the EU, pre- and post- Referendum

To take part in elections, voters need to be registered.  This needs to be done actively by potential voters, which currently (April 2019) includes those from other EU countries living in the UK.*

1. UK Government (2019) information page "Register to vote".

• Note this information from the website: "If the UK takes part in the European Parliament elections on 23 May, you need to register by 7 May to vote. You don’t need to register again if you’ve already registered."

2. For EU27 citizens (other than Malta, Cyprus, Republic of Ireland):

• As well as registering online, a paper form (from the Electoral Commission) must be completed to confirm that the citizen will only be voting in the UK elections for the European Parliament - should they take place - and not in other European countries.  This form needs to be sent to the local Electoral Registration Office by 7th May. 

*For full details, please see the UK Government (2019) page on "Types of election, referendums, and who can vote" .

NB: important information from the Electoral Commission (3rd May 2019) for EU27 citizens (other than Malta, Cyprus, Republic of Ireland).

Ian Dunt (2019) writes on the effective disenfranchisement of EU27 citizens in the UK and a possible last-minute way round the complications (as of 7th May 2019).  

The Electoral Commission is an independent body established to oversee elections and regulate political finance in the UK.

• Guidance and resources for EU elections in Great Britain
• Guidance and resources for EU elections in Northern Ireland

The European Parliament meets alternately in Brussels (Belgium) and Strasbourg (France). Its website provides information about its role and structures on its website, This is from the Parliament's Liaison Office in the UK (2019):

• Elections and MEPs (...) European Elections 2019.  Includes PDF lists of UK MEPs by region.  Other useful links include "What Europe does for me"  

Results from local elections are broadcast as they come in, normally via BBC and Sky News channels.

Older programmes from previous elections can be watched via Box of Broadcasts (BoB). A selection of these are available via our curated Playlist . You will need to be logged in to BoB to watch.

Projection Statistics

• European Elections Stats: A website set up by Camille Borett and Mauritz Laurer. Data contains predictions of seat distributions for the European Parliament with and without UK involvement

If the UK goes to the Polls for EU elections it will be on Thursday 23 May 2019.

You can find lists of candidates for each region here

Manifesto Links

Manifestos from the UK Parties : https://electionsinthenews.blogspot.com/2019/05/european-elections-get-started-with.html