10 June 1999 2004 → 18 seats, 28% 62 seats, 44% 36 29 | Turnout 24% 62 seats, 44% 2 seats, 17% 29 10 | |
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The European Parliament Election, 1999 was the United Kingdom's part of the European Parliament election 1999. It was held on 10 June 1999. Following the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999 it was the first European election to be held in the United Kingdom where the whole country used a system of proportional representation. In total, 87 Members of the European Parliament were elected from the United Kingdom.
Contents
The Conservatives won double the number of seats compared to the previous European election in 1994. While the Labour Party saw their seats reduced from 62 to 29. It was the first European Parliament election to be held since the 1997 general election which resulted in a change of government from Conservative to Labour. The Liberal Democrats saw their number of seats increase to 10 from just 2 in the previous election. The UK Independence Party (UKIP), Green Party and Plaid Cymru gained their first ever seats in the European Parliament.
Turnout was 24%, the lowest of any member state in the 1999 election where the EU average was 49.51%. It was also the lowest of any European election in the United Kingdom, and the lowest of any member state until the 2009 election.
Electoral System
The European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999 introduced a closed-list party list system method of proportional representation, calculated using the D'Hondt method into Great Britain. In Northern Ireland, the Single Transferable Vote, which is also a form of proportional representation, which had been used since the first European election in 1979 was retained. The Act also created twelve new electoral regions, which were based on the British government's nine administrative Regions of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The effect of the introduction of proportional representation was that many small parties won seats to the European Parliament for the first time.
Great Britain
The Conservatives doubled the number of seats from the last European election. Labour saw their 62 seats reduced to just 29. It was the first European Parliament election to be held since the change of United Kingdom government from Conservative to Labour two years earlier. The Liberal Democrats saw their number of seats increase to 10 from just 2 in the previous election. The UK Independence Party, Green Party and Plaid Cymru won their first ever seats in the European Parliament. These changes are largely due to the move to proportional representation from first-past-the-post.
Summary of the election results for Great Britain
All parties with more than 50,000 votes shownNorthern Ireland
Summary of the election results for Northern Ireland
MEPs defeated
Labour
Liberal Democrat
Conservative
Pro-Euro Conservative Party
Independent Labour
Scottish Socialist Party
Leeds Left Alliance
Aftermath
Labour's results resulted in a debate within Labour about the introduction of proportional representation. In September 1998, a poll of 150 MPs had found that 58% backed the introduction of proportional representation. A follow up poll ran on the Sunday after the election found that this had decreased to 43%, with the majority wanting a return to the first-past-the-post system. It has also been argued however, that the introduction of proportional representation actually reduced Labour's losses as first-past-the-post is more sensitive to swings in public opinion.