European elections explained
The European elections will be contested under a form of proportional representation,
called the Regional List System, using the d'Hondt formula. Unlike other forms of PR,
such as the Single Transferable Vote, where electors cast more than one vote in order
of preference, the d'Hondt system allows just one vote for the party or independent
candidate of the voter's choice.
Each geographical region in the UK forms a constituency that elects a number of MEPs
in proportion to its population. Each political party prepares a list of candidates for each
region it wants to contest, ranked in order. The party with the most votes gets its first
candidate elected and then its original vote is divided by the number of candidates of
that party so far elected plus one. The party which then has the biggest vote gets a
candidate elected and its original vote is likewise divided by the number of its candidates
so far elected plus one. If an independent has the highest vote in any round then the seat
goes to that individual. The process continues until all the places have been allocated.
The d'Hondt system allows parties with lower initial votes the chance to win seats.
It also makes it impossible to determine precisely how many votes a party needs to get a
candidate elected. In the example shown here, the BNP gets an MEP with 9%. That is the
percentage that guarantees the fascists an MEP in the North West for any realistic distribution
of votes among other parties. However there are some scenarios in which the BNP might get
elected with just 8%. This would be the case in the example here if, say, the Liberal Democrats
got less than 16% and the other votes went to no-hopers. A vote for a no-hoper can make it
easier for the BNP to get in.
In each region it is possible to determine a minimum percentage required to guarantee a BNP
MEP for any realistic distribution of votes among the other parties. Especially in regions
that elect few MEPs, the BNP could get an MEP with a much lower percentage than the
minimum, but election would not be guaranteed. For example in the North East the BNP
would get an MEP whatever its percentage, provided it came third and its vote was more than
half the vote of the party that comes first.
Here is an example of how the system would work in the North West if the Conservatives poll
37%, Labour 30%, Liberal Democrats 17%, BNP 9%, Greens 6% and UK Independence Party 1%.
The North West will elect nine MEPs in June, one fewer than in 1999.
The numbers in bold signify an elected candidate.
Round Con Lab LibDem BNP Greens UKIP
1 37 30 17 9 6 1
2 18.5 30 17 9 6 1
3 18.5 15 17 9 6 1
4 12.33 15 17 9 6 1
5 12.33 15 8.5 9 6 1
6 12.33 10 8.5 9 6 1
7 9.25 10 8.5 9 6 1
8 9.25 7.5 8.5 9 6 1
9 7.4 7.5 8.5 9 6 1
Here the Conservatives have the largest percentage vote so they take the first MEP position.
Their vote is then divided by two (one MEP elected plus one).
The second MEP elected is Labour because Labour's 30% is the highest vote after the
Conservative vote has been reduced. Labour's vote is then divided by two.
In the third round the Conservatives' 18.5% is the highest vote so they get another MEP elected.
Their original 37% vote is then divided by three (two MEPs elected plus one).
The fourth MEP place goes to the Liberal Democrats, the fifth to Labour, and so on. In the ninth
round the BNP's 9% is the highest vote so the top candidate on its list takes the last MEP place.
The final result is four Conservatives elected, three Labour, one Liberal Democrat and one BNP.
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