Candidates from Tower Hamlets and Hackney are standing in the European election on Thursday Pic: Paul Albertella
The European parliament elections are almost here, with the parties in London range from pro-Brexiters to animal well-fare advocates.
Tower Hamlets and Hackney are well represented, with three and four candidates respectively. Lewisham and Croydon only have one candidate each.
Standing in the elections are three candidates from the Tower Hamlets 2018 local elections. Liberal Democrat candidates Rabina Khan, who won as Shadwell councillor, and Jonathan Fryer who previously ran for the Mile End. The Liberal Democrats, whose new manifesto recently launched, are fighting to remain in Europe and tackle climate change.
Kirsty Finlayson, Conservative and Unionist Party candidate, previously ran for St Katharine’s & Wapping. Her party is running on a primarily pro-Brexit platform.
The Animal Welfare Party has put forward two candidates who ran in the 2017 general elections for the party in Hackney. Vanessa Hudson, leader of the party, ran in Hackney South and Shoreditch. Party member Jon Homan ran in Hackney North and Stoke Newington. The party is running first and foremost to further animal protections within society, but also said in their manifesto that they believe this is best done by remaining within Europe.
They are joined by Luke Parker, Conservative and Unionist Party candidate, who also ran for Hackney South and Shoreditch in the 2017 general elections.
Independent candidate Henry Muss, who is running for Climate & Ecological Emergency independents, is the Hackney Council Public Health Officer. As his party name suggests, he is focused on issues of climate change.
Daze Aghaji, chief Climate & Ecological Emergency independent, is a student at Goldsmiths, University of London in New Cross. Activist turned politician, Adgaji’s statement to votes said: “My main aim in life is to create change and inspire a generation to realise politics is for all people and ensure everyone feels empowered through democracy.”
Croydon resident Peter Underwood is running for the Green Party. Underwood is the Conservation Volunteers senior project officer for Croydon and Surrey, and fittingly is running on a policy of climate action.
It may seem pointless to worry about European elections but UK could be an official member of the European Union until October 31.
British MEPs could still play an important role in constructing the new parliament, seeing which parties gain seats and power. This will affect future relations with the EU and how the UK’s interests align with theirs.
Not only that, but any Brexit deal must be signed off by the EU parliament. That includes the UK’s MEPs who will have influence over decisions on Brexit from the other side.
The EU elections work differently to general elections in the UK.
The voting process is mostly the same. Anyone registered to vote in the UK can do so in the three usual ways, in person, by post or by proxy. Votes are cast for parties or for independent candidates. All of this will take place at local polling stations on Thursday May 23.
The biggest difference comes in once the votes have been counted. Seats on the parliament are given by region, with London getting 8. Those seats are divided between the parties/candidates rather than all going to one. This is a form of proportional representation called the d’Hondt system.
So, if there were three parties with the votes divided as such:
Carrot Party 100 votes
Potato Party 80 votes
Broccoli Party 40 votes
Green Bean Party 10
The carrot party would be the first to get a seat. Its votes would then be divided by 2 (the number of seats the party has plus 1).
Carrot Party 50 votes
Potato Party 80 votes
Broccoli Party 40 votes
Green Bean Party 10
The next seat goes to the Potato Party, whose votes are divided in two.
Carrot Party 50 votes
Potato Party 40 votes
Broccoli Party 40 votes
Green Bean Party 10
The Carrot Party again has the most votes and gets another seat.
This continues until all 8 seats are divided among the parties/candidates. Those with the most seats hold the most power, similar to the UK parliament where the controlling party has a majority.
That isn’t to say that they hold the most power in the European Parliament, but among the MEPs from London the Carrot Party here is the most influential.
Taking this example to the end, the seats would be divided as shown:
Carrot Party 3
Potato Party 3
Broccoli Party 2
Green Bean Party 0
Essentially what this means is one party/candidate won’t hold all the power. But, it also means that parties/candidates with the least votes may not even get a seat.
In total there are 10 parties and 11 independents running. Independent candidates count as their own party, and the point of the system is that the parties are given seats and they choose who to fill them.
This website lists all parties and candidates by region. It includes party manifestos, candidate statements, and information on polling stations.
The full list of parties and candidates in London:
Animal Welfare Party
Vanessa Hudson
Jane Smith
Sam Morland
Ranjan Joshi
Mina Da Rui
Jon Homan
Simon Gouldman
Aileen Quinton
Brexit Party
Ben Habib
Lance Forman
Graham Shore
Alka Sehgal Cuthbert
Adefolajimi Ogunnusi
Simon Marcus
Mehrtash A’zami
Aileen Quinton
Anti-Brexit Tories at Birmingham Bin Brexit march Pic: Ilovetheeu
Change UK
Gavin Esler
Jan Vincent-Rostowski
Carole Tongue
Annabel Mullin
Karen Newman
Nora Mulready
Jessica Simor
Haseeb Ur-Rehman
Conservatives
Syed Kamall
Dr Charles Tannock
Joy Morrissey
Timothy Barnes
Scott Pattenden
Attic Rahman
Kirsty Finlayson
Luke Parker
Green Party anti-austerity march Pic: Alan Stanton
Green Party
Scott Ainslie
Gulnar Hasnain
Shahrar Ali
Rachel Collinson
Eleanor Margolies
Remco van der Stoep
Kirsten De Keyser
Peter Underwood
Labour
Claude Moraes
Seb Dance
Katy Clark
Laura Parker
Murad Qureshi
Taranjit Chana
James Beckles
Sanchia Alasia
Liberal Democrat Manifesto Pic: Arran Angus
Liberal Democrats
Irina Von Wiese
Dinesh Dhamija
Luisa Porritt
Jonathan Fryer
Hussain Khan
Helen Cross
Graham Colley
Rabina Khan
UK European Union Party
Pierre Kirk
Richard Stevens
Saleyha Ahsan
Anna Novikova
Angela Antetomaso
Richard Boardman
UKIP
Gerard Batten
Richard Braine
Peter Muswell
Freddy Vachha
Robert Stephenson
Peter McIlvenna
John Poynton
Ronie Johnson
Women’s Equality Party
Catherine Mayer
Bea Gare
Nanci Hogan
Aliyah Dunbar-Hussain
Hannah Barham-Brown
Alison Marshall
Olivia Vincenti
Leyla Mohan
Extinction rebellion protest Pic: Julia Hawkins
Independent
Daze Aghaji
Roger Hallam
Alan Kirkby
Kofi Klu
Zoe Lafferty
Claudia Mcdowell
Andrew Medhurst
Henry Muss
Mike Shad
Ian Sowden
Andrea Venzon
