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European Parliament election, 2004 (UK)
The European Parliament election, 2004 was the UK part of the European Parliament election, 2004 . It was the first European election to be held in the United Kingdom using postal-only voting in four areas. It coincided with local and regional elections .
The Conservative Party and the Labour Party both polled poorly. The Conservatives, although getting a vote share 4.1% greater than Labour, still experienced their lowest vote share in a national election since 1832. Labour's vote share was its lowest since 1918 . Labour's decline in votes was regarded as being largely due to widespread public dissatisfaction about the Iraq War and, as with the Conservatives, the increased popularity of the United Kingdom Independence Party .
The United Kingdom Independence Party did exceptionally well, and managed to increase its number of MEPs from 3 to 12, pushing the Liberal Democrats into fourth place. UKIP received a very large increase in media coverage before the elections, partly because of the appointment of Robert Kilroy-Silk as a candidate. The actress Joan Collins also became a member and announced her support for the party.
Other minor parties also posted vote gains.
In Northern Ireland , as expected, Sinn Féin beat the SDLP in the polls and took its first Northern Ireland seat. This coincided with its winning a seat in the corresponding elections in the Republic .
Gibraltar voted for the first time, as part of the South West England region. The Conservative Party won overwhelming support there on a higher than average turnout. For full results, see European Parliament Election, 2004 (Gibraltar) .
Results
Turnout for all the regions was 37.6% on an electorate of 45,309,760.
England, Scotland and Wales - Overall Result
Source: BBC
Map of England with a coloured dot for each MEP
Party Votes % Change Seats Change
Conservative Party 4,397,090 26.7 -9.0 27 -8
Labour Party 3,718,683 22.6 -5.4 19 -6
UK Independence Party 2,650,768 16.1 +9.2 12 +10
Liberal Democrats 2,452,327 14.9 +2.3 12 +2
Green Party 1,033,093 6.3 0.0 2 0
British National Party 808,200 4.9 +3.9 0 0
Scottish National Party 231,505 1.4 -1.3 2 0
Plaid Cymru 159,888 1.0 -0.9 1 0
Others 1,170,737 11.6
Total 17,028,947
England
There are 9 English regions:
East Midlands
Source: BBC
Turnout was 43.4% on an electorate of 3,241,566
Eastern
Source: BBC
Turnout was 36.5% on an electorate of 4,170,840
Party Votes % Change Seats
Conservative Party 465,526 30.8 -11.9 3
UK Independence Party 296,160 19.6 +10.7 2
Labour Party 244,929 16.2 -8.9 1
Liberal Democrats 211,378 14.0 +2.1 1
Independent - Bell 93,028 6.2 +6.2 0
Green Party 84,068 5.6 -0.6 0
British National Party 65,557 4.3 +3.4 0
English Democrats Party 26,807 1.8 +1.8 0
RESPECT 13,904 0.9 +0.9 0
Independent - Naisbitt 5,137 0.3 +0.3 0
Prolife Alliance 3,730 0.3 +0.3 0
London
Source: BBC
Turnout was 37.3% on an electorate of 5,143,392
Party Votes % Change Seats
Conservative Party 504,941 26.8 -5.9 3
Labour Party 466,584 24.8 -10.3 3
Liberal Democrats 288,790 15.3 +3.7 1
UK Independence Party 232,633 12.3 +6.9 1
Green Party 158,986 8.4 +0.8 1
RESPECT 91,175 4.8 +4.8 0
British National Party 76,152 4.0 +2.5 0
Christian Peoples Alliance 45,038 2.4 +2.4 0
English Democrats Party 15,945 0.9 +0.9 0
PPBG 5,205 0.3 +0.3 0
North East
Source: BBC
Turnout was 40.8% on an electorate of 1,922,446
North West
Source: BBC
Turnout was 40.9% on an electorate of 5,188,717
Party Votes % Change Seats
Labour Party 576,388 27.4 -7.1 3
Conservative Party 509,466 24.2 -11.2 3
Liberal Democrats 335,063 15.9 +4.2 2
UK Independence Party 257,158 11.7 +5.2 1
British National Party 134,959 6.4 +5.1 0
Green Party 117,393 5.6 - 0
Liberal Party 96,325 4.6 +2.4 0
English Democrats Party 34,110 1.6 +1.6 0
RESPECT 24,636 1.2 +1.2 0
Countryside Party 11,283 0.5 +0.5 0
Prolife Alliance 10,084 0.5 +0.5 0
Independent - Neal 8,318 0.4 +0.4 0
South East
Turnout was 36.5% on an electorate of 6,087,103
Party Votes % Change Seats
Conservative Party 776,370 35.2 -9.3 4
UK Independence Party 431,111 19.5 +9.8 2
Liberal Democrats 338,342 15.3 - 2
Labour Party 301,398 13.7 -6.0 1
Green Party 173,351 7.9 +0.4 1
British National Party 64,877 2.9 +2.1 0
Senior Citizens Party 42,861 1.9 +1.9 0
English Democrats Party 29,126 1.3 +1.3 0
RESPECT 13,426 0.6 +0.6 0
Peace Party 12,572 0.6 +0.6 0
Christian Peoples Alliance 11,733 0.5 +0.5 0
Prolife Alliance 6,579 0.3 +0.3 0
Independent - Rhodes 5,671 0.3 +0.3 0
South West
Turnout was 37.6% on an electorate of 3,845,253
Gibraltar was considered to be part of South West England for the purposes of the election. The Conservative Party won overwhelming support there. For full results, see European Parliament Election, 2004 (Gibraltar) .
West Midlands
Turnout was 36.0% on an electorate of 4,016,007
Yorkshire and Humber
Turnout was 42.6% on an electorate of 3,730,275
Party Votes % Change Seats
Labour Party 413,213 26.3 -5.1 2
Conservative Party 387,369 24.6 -12.0 2
Liberal Democrats 244,607 15.6 +1.2 1
UK Independence Party 228,666 14.5 +7.4 1
British National Party 126,538 8.0 +6.8 0
Green Party 90,337 5.7 - 0
RESPECT 29,865 1.9 +1.9 0
English Democrats Party 24,068 1.5 +1.5 0
Independent - Ellis 14,762 0.9 +0.9 0
Alliance for Green Socialism 13,776 0.9 +0.9 0
Scotland
Source: BBC
Turnout was 30.9% on an electorate of 3,877,194
Party Votes % Change Seats
Labour Party 310,865 26.4 -2.3 2
Scottish National Party 231,505 19.7 -7.5 2
Conservative Party 209,028 17.8 -2.0 2
Liberal Democrats 154,178 13.1 +3.3 1
Green Party 79,695 6.8 +1.0 0
UK Independence Party 78,828 6.7 +5.4 0
Scottish Socialist Party 61,356 5.2 +1.2 0
Operation Christian Vote 21,056 1.8 +1.8 0
British National Party 19,427 1.7 +1.3 0
Scottish Wind Watch 7,255 0.6 +0.6 0
Independent - Tait 3,624 0.3 +0.3 0
Wales
Source: BBC
Turnout was 41.4% on an electorate of 2,228,030
Party Votes % Change Seats
Labour Party 297,810 32.5 +0.6 2
Conservative Party 177,771 19.4 -3.4 1
Plaid Cymru 159,888 17.4 -12.2 1
UK Independence Party 96,677 10.5 +7.4 0
Liberal Democrats 96,166 10.2 +2.3 0
Green Party 32,761 3.6 +1.0 0
British National Party 27,135 3.0 +3.0 0
Forward Wales 17,280 1.9 +1.9 0
Christian Democratic Party 6,821 0.7 +0.7 0
RESPECT 5,427 0.6 +1.9 0
Northern Ireland
Source: BBC
Turnout was 51.72 % on an electorate of 1,072,669
Members returned
Party Leaders in June 2004
See also
External links
Source
Other guides
Manifestos and documents
Northern Ireland only:
Scotland only:
Wales only:
