2004 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom

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Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox election Template:United Kingdom in the European Union The 2004 European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's part of the wider 2004 European Parliament election which was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union. The United Kingdom's part of this election was held on Thursday 10 June 2004. The election also coincided with the 2004 local elections and the London Assembly and mayoral elections. In total, 78 Members of the European Parliament were elected from the United Kingdom using proportional representation.

The Conservative Party and the Labour Party both polled poorly. The Conservatives experienced their second-lowest ever recorded vote share in a national election (even less than their 1832 nadir, although the party would do worse still in the 2014 and 2019 elections), and Labour their lowest since 1918. The UK Independence Party (UKIP) saw a large increase in support, increasing its number of MEPs from 3 to 12 and on popular vote pushed the Liberal Democrats, who themselves had increased their representation from 10 to 12 seats into fourth place. In Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin beat the SDLP in the polls and took its first Northern Ireland seat.

Background

Electoral system

The United Kingdom elected 78 Members of the European Parliament using proportional representation. The United Kingdom was divided into twelve multi-member constituencies. The eleven of these regions which form Great Britain used a closed-list party list system method of proportional representation, calculated using the D'Hondt method. Northern Ireland used the Single Transferable Vote (STV). As a consequence of the 2004 enlargement of the European Union, the number of seats allocated to the United Kingdom was fewer than in 1999.

It was the first European election to be held in the United Kingdom using postal-only voting in four areas: the North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, and East Midlands regions.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Regional seat allocations

A combination of the effects of the Treaty of Nice and the 2004 enlargement of the European Union meant that the number of seats allocated to the United Kingdom for the 2004 election was reduced from the 87 MEPs allocated for the 1999 election to 78 MEPs.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

As a result of the successful challenge of Matthews v United Kingdom before the European Court of Human Rights in 1999<ref name="webcitation.org">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> residents of Gibraltar, voted in the European Parliament election for the first time, as part of the South West England region.<ref name="Court upholds Rock voting rights">Template:Cite news</ref>

Changes in regional seat allocations<ref name= "Research Paper 04/50 European Parliament elections 2004">Template:Citation</ref>
Constituency Representation
in 1999		 Representation
in 2004		 Net Gain/Loss
East Midlands 6 6 Template:Nochange
East of England 8 7 Template:Decrease1
London 10 9 Template:Decrease1
North East England 4 3 Template:Decrease1
North West England 10 9 Template:Decrease1
Northern Ireland 3 3 Template:Nochange
Scotland 8 7 Template:Decrease1
South East England 11 10 Template:Decrease1
South West England1 7 7 Template:Nochange
Wales 5 4 Template:Decrease1
West Midlands 8 7 Template:Decrease1
Yorkshire and the Humber 7 6 Template:Decrease1
Overall 87 78 Template:Decrease9

1 Includes Gibraltar, the only British overseas territory which was part of the EU.

Results

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

Partial map, showing most popular party by counting area in Great Britain only.

Turnout for all the regions was 38.2% on an electorate of 44,157,267<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> (43,084,598 in Great Britain and 1,072,669 in Northern Ireland).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The Conservatives and Labour both polled poorly. The Conservatives, although getting a vote share 4.1% greater than Labour, 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 UK Independence Party (UKIP). UKIP saw a large increase in support, increasing its number of MEPs from 3 to 12, drawing level with the Liberal Democrats, who themselves had increased their representation from 10 to 12 seats. UKIP polled higher than the Liberal Democrats to push the latter into fourth place.

Turnout was lowest in Scotland, which did not hold local elections on the same day. In Scotland, Labour topped the poll, followed by the Scottish National Party (SNP). The Conservatives' share of the vote declined by 2 per cent, making it the region with the smallest swing against them.<ref name= "Research Paper 04/50 European Parliament elections 2004"/>

Wales was the only region were Labour increased its share of the vote compared to 1999. The Conservatives managed to make gains pushing Plaid Cymru into third and whose share of the vote fell by 12 percentage points relative to 1999. Similarly UKIP narrowly beat the Liberal Democrats into fourth place. Wales was the region where the Green Party polled their lowest share of the vote.<ref name= "Research Paper 04/50 European Parliament elections 2004"/>

United Kingdom

Party Votes won % of vote Loss/Gain Seats Loss/Gain† % of seats
Template:Party name with colour 4,397,090 25.9 -7.6 27 -8 34.6
Template:Party name with colour 3,718,683 21.9 -4.4 19 -6 24.4
Template:Party name with colour 2,650,768 15.6 +9.1 12 +10 15.4
Template:Party name with colour 2,452,327 14.4 +2.6 12 +2 15.4
Template:Party name with colour 948,588 5.6 +0.3 2 0 2.6
Template:Party name with colour 808,201 4.8 +3.8 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 252,216 1.5 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 231,505 1.4 -1.2 2 0 2.6
Template:Party name with colour 175,761 1.0 -0.8 1 0 1.3
Template:Party name with colour 159,888 0.9 -0.8 1 0 1.3
Template:Party name with colour 144,541 0.9 -0.3 1 +1 1.3
Template:Party name with colour 130,056 0.8 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 96,325 0.6 -0.3 0 0 0
Independent - Martin Bell 93,028 0.6 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 91,164 0.5 -0.6 1 0 1.3
Template:Party name with colour 87,559 0.5 -1.3 0 -1 0
Template:Party name with colour 79,695 0.5 -0.1 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 61,356 0.4 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 56,771 0.3 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 42,861 0.3 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 42,107 0.2 New 0 0 0
Independent - Herron 39,658 0.2 New 0 0 0
Independent - Gilliland 36,270 0.2 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 33,501 0.2 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 21,056 0.1 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 20,393 0.1 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 17,280 0.1 New 0 0 0
Independent - Ellis 14,762 0.1 New 0 0 0
People's Party for Better Government 13,776 0.1 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 12,572 0.1 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 9,172 0.1 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 8,650 0.1 New 0 0 0
Independent - Neal 8,318 0.0 New 0 0 0
Scottish Wind Watch 7,255 0.0 New 0 0 0
Christian Democratic Party 6,821 0.0 New 0 0 0
Independent - Rhodes 5,671 0.0 New 0 0 0
Independent - Naisbitt 5,137 0.0 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 4,810 0.0 New 0 0 0
Independent - Tait 3,624 0.0 New 0 0 0
Independent - Rogers 2,615 0.0 New 0 0 0
Independent - Shadmyraine 847 0.0 New 0 0 0
Total 16,443,397 — — 78 — —
All parties listed.

†Loss/gain figures for seats are losses/gains versus the 1999 notional result, as the number of MEPs overall fell.

Great Britain

Summary of the election results for Great Britain<ref name="BBC News"/>

Party Votes won % of vote Loss/Gain Seats Loss/Gain† % of seats
Template:Party name with colour 4,397,090 26.7 -9.0 27 -8 36.0
Template:Party name with colour 3,718,683 22.6 -5.4 19 -6 25.3
Template:Party name with colour 2,650,768 16.1 +9.2 12 +10 16.0
Template:Party name with colour 2,452,327 14.9 +2.3 12 +2 16.0
Template:Party name with colour 948,588 5.8 +0.1 2 0 2.7
Template:Party name with colour 808,201 4.9 +3.9 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 252,216 1.5 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 231,505 1.4 -1.3 2 0 2.7
Template:Party name with colour 159,888 1.0 -0.9 1 0 1.3
Template:Party name with colour 130,056 0.8 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 96,325 0.6 -0.3 0 0 0
Independent - Martin Bell 93,028 0.6 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 79,695 0.5 -0.1 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 61,356 0.4 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 56,771 0.3 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 42,861 0.3 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 42,107 0.3 New 0 0 0
Independent - Herron 39,658 0.2 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 33,501 0.2 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 21,056 0.1 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 20,393 0.1 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 17,280 0.1 New 0 0 0
Independent - Herron 14,762 0.1 New 0 0 0
People's Party for Better Government 13,776 0.1 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 12,572 0.1 New 0 0 0
Template:Party name with colour 8,650 0.1 New 0 0 0
Independent - Neal 8,318 0.1 New 0 0 0
Scottish Wind Watch 7,255 0.0 New 0 0 0
Christian Democratic Party 6,821 0.0 New 0 0 0
Independent - Rhodes 5,671 0.0 New 0 0 0
Independent - Naisbitt 5,137 0.0 New 0 0 0
Independent - Tait 3,624 0.0 New 0 0 0
Independent - Rogers 2,615 0.0 New 0 0 0
Independent - Shadmyraine 847 0.0 New 0 0 0
Total 16,443,397 — — 75 — —
All parties listed.

†Loss/gain figures for seats are losses/gains versus the 1999 notional result, as the number of MEPs overall fell.

Gibraltar

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Gibraltar participated in the United Kingdom's election for the first time in 2004 as part of the South West England constituency. Gibraltar is a British overseas territory (BOT) and therefore is under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United Kingdom but does not form part of it.<ref name=fco>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gibraltar was however part of the EU, the only BOT to be so included. Following however, the result of the successful challenge of Matthews v United Kingdom before the European Court of Human Rights in 1999<ref name="webcitation.org"/> residents of Gibraltar were given the right to vote in the European Parliament elections. The British government decided not to give Gibraltar its own seat due to its small electorate of just over 20,000 which would have meant with just one seat Gibraltar would have been over-represented by about 30 times the average.<ref name="Court upholds Rock voting rights"/>

None of the main Gibraltar political parties contested the election, so voters chose from United Kingdom party lists. However, Lyana Armstrong-Emery of Gibraltar's Reform Party had a place on a joint list with the Green Party. In addition both the leader of the Conservative Party, Michael Howard, and his deputy, Michael Ancram, campaigned in Gibraltar.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Turnout in Gibraltar was 57.5%, higher than the 37.6% for the South West England electoral region as a whole.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} ()</ref> The Conservative Party polled over two-thirds of the Gibraltar vote, with no other party exceeding 10% support.

Northern Ireland

Turnout in Northern Ireland was 51.2%.<ref name="European Election: Northern Ireland Result">Template:Cite news</ref> Sinn Féin beat the SDLP in the polls and took its first Northern Ireland seat. Sinn Féin also won a seat in the corresponding elections in the Republic of Ireland.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Sinn Féin and the DUP increased their shares of the vote relative to the 1999 European Parliament elections, while the shares for both the SDLP and the UUP fell.<ref name="Research Paper 04/50 European Parliament elections 2004"/> This was also the final election in which a Unionist candidate topped the poll in Northern Ireland.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Jim Allister of the DUP and Bairbre de Brún of Sinn Féin were elected in the first round while Jim Nicholson of the UUP was elected in the third stage, after the votes of the other candidates were reallocated.<ref name="Research Paper 04/50 European Parliament elections 2004"/>

Summary of the election results for Northern Ireland<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Party Candidate(s) Seats Loss/Gain First Preference Votes
Number % of vote
Template:Party name with colour Jim Allister 1 Template:Nochange 175,761 31.9
Template:Party name with colour Bairbre de Brún 1 Template:Increase 1 144,541 26.3
Template:Party name with colour Jim Nicholson 1 Template:Nochange 91,164 16.6
Template:Party name with colour Martin Morgan 0 Template:Decrease 1 87,559 15.9
Template:Party name with colour John Gilliland 0 Template:Nochange 36,270 6.6
Template:Party name with colour Eamonn McCann 0 Template:Nochange 9,172 1.6
Template:Party name with colour Lindsay Whitcroft 0 Template:Nochange 4,810 0.9
Total 549,277
Turnout 51.2%<ref name="European Election: Northern Ireland Result"/>

MEPs defeated

Labour

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Conservative

  • Jacqueline Foster (North West England) - was reelected in the 2009 election.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Plaid Cymru

Aftermath

Both Tony Blair and Michael Howard faced criticism for their results with then Secretary of State for Health John Reid calling the results "disappointing" for Labour and "disastrous" for the Conservatives.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Shortly after the election UKIP's Robert Kilroy-Silk, who was credited with raising the profile of the party during the election, was interviewed by Channel 4 television about leadership ambitions, Kilroy-Silk did not deny having ambitions to lead the party, but stressed that Roger Knapman would lead it into the next general election.Template:Citation needed However, the next day, on Breakfast with Frost, he criticised Knapman's leadership.<ref>"Kilroy-Silk wants UKIP leadership", Daily Telegraph, 3 October 2004</ref> After further disagreement with the leadership, Kilroy-Silk resigned the UKIP whip in the European Parliament on 27 October 2004.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Initially, he remained a member, while seeking a bid for the party leadership.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, this was not successful and he resigned completely from UKIP on 20 January 2005, calling it a "joke".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Two weeks later, he founded his own party, Veritas, taking a number of UKIP members, including both of the London Assembly members, with him.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

UKIP formed a new European Parliament Group, Independence/Democracy which was co-chaired by Nigel Farage and Hanne Dahl.

See also

Notes

Template:Notelist

References

Template:Reflist

Manifestos and documents

Template:European Parliament elections Template:British European Parliament elections Template:United Kingdom elections

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