For Whom Should I Vote?

I know it is a bit late in the day but if you haven't voted already and you are not sure who to vote for then you might like to try these websites, votematch and euprofiler. Both sites present you with a list of statements to which you indicate how much you agree or disagree. This is followed by a second section where you say how important you consider the various topics that the statements have covered are to you. At the end they indicate which party your opinions are most closely aligned. A bit of fun that might surprise you. It certainly surprised me.

Euro Quiz Answers

1) How many Members of the European Parliament (MEP) will represent the UK after these elections?
There will be 72 MEPs representing the United Kingdom. This is a reduction from the 78 we currently have.

2) What constituency are you in?
A difficult question for me to answer since I do not know where you are but the constituencies in the UK are:
London
South East England
South West England
West Midlands
North West England
North East England
Yorkshire and the Humber
East Midlands
East of England
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales

3) How many MEP are elected to represent that constituency?

Constituency	Seats	Pop.	per Seat
London	8*	7.4m	925k
South East England	10	8m	800k
South West England	6*	4.9m	817k
West Midlands	6*	5.2m	867k
North West England	8*	6.7m	838k
North East England	3	2.5m	833k
Yorkshire and the Humber	6	5.1m	850k
East Midlands	5*	4.1m	820k
East of England	7	5.4m	771k
Northern Ireland	3	1.7m	567k
Scotland	6	5m	833k
Wales	4	3m	750k
Total	72	58.7m	819k

* One seat less than in 2004.

Compare this with the table at Wikipedia

4) How many votes do you have?
If you are eligible to vote then you will be able to cast one vote.

5) What will you see listed on the ballot paper?
You will see the names of the parties that are fielding candidates. Unlike national and local elections you will not see the names of the candidates.

6) How do they determine who will represent you when all the votes have been counted?
The system is known as the d'Hondt method, d'Hondt being the surname of the Belgian mathematician who devised the technique. The best way to explain the method is to work through an example. Don't be put off it is really quite simple.

Click on image for larger version.

Euro-quiz

There are European elections on June 4th. I wonder how well you will get on in this Euro-quiz?
1) How many Members of the European Parliament (MEP) will represent the UK after these elections?
2) What constituency are you in?
3) How many MEP are elected to represent that constituency?
4) How many votes do you have?
5) What will you see listed on the ballot paper?
6) How do they determine who will represent you when all the votes have been counted?

I look forward to seeing your answers.