European Parliament election, 1994 (UK)
Encyclopedia
The European Parliament Election, 1994 was the fourth European election to be held in the United Kingdom
. It was held on 9 June, though, as usual, the ballots were not counted until the evening of 12 June. The electoral system was, for the final European election, First Past the Post in England
, Scotland
and Wales
and Single Transferable Vote
in Northern Ireland
. This was the first election with 87 MEP
s, the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1993
increased the number of seats for the UK from 81. For the first time, the UK did not get the lowest turnout in Europe. This was the first European election contested by the United Kingdom Independence Party
and the first European election in which the Liberal Democrats won seats. The Conservatives
' performance in the election was very poor, losing a further 14 seats, taking their number of seats down to 18, which was 42 fewer seats than in the 1979 election, the year they defeated the Labour Party in the 1979 General Election
. This reflected the general unpopularity of the Major
government at the time. The Green Party
was unable to build on its highly successful performance of the previous election, losing more than three-quarters of its votes.
Richard Huggett
, standing as a "Literal Democrat", gained over 10,000 votes in the Devon and East Plymouth
constituency and almost certainly prevented the Liberal Democrats from gaining a third seat from the Conservative Party
.
*UK Office of the European Parliament
*United Kingdom election results
Note: Percentages are approximate
Total votes cast - 15,292,722. All parties with more than 3,000 votes shown.
Total votes cast - 559,867.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It was held on 9 June, though, as usual, the ballots were not counted until the evening of 12 June. The electoral system was, for the final European election, First Past the Post in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and Single Transferable Vote
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. This was the first election with 87 MEP
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
s, the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1993
European Parliamentary Elections Act 1993
The European Parliamentary Elections Act 1993 is an Act of Parliament that amended the procedures on European elections in the United Kingdom, amending the European Assembly Elections Act 1978...
increased the number of seats for the UK from 81. For the first time, the UK did not get the lowest turnout in Europe. This was the first European election contested by the United Kingdom Independence Party
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
and the first European election in which the Liberal Democrats won seats. The Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
' performance in the election was very poor, losing a further 14 seats, taking their number of seats down to 18, which was 42 fewer seats than in the 1979 election, the year they defeated the Labour Party in the 1979 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
. This reflected the general unpopularity of the Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
government at the time. The Green Party
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...
was unable to build on its highly successful performance of the previous election, losing more than three-quarters of its votes.
Richard Huggett
Richard Huggett
Richard John Huggett is a British citizen noted for standing in a variety of elections using descriptions which were similar, but not identical, to those of established political parties, leading to this practice being outlawed under the Registration of Political Parties Act 1998.Most notably he...
, standing as a "Literal Democrat", gained over 10,000 votes in the Devon and East Plymouth
Devon and East Plymouth (European Parliament constituency)
Devon and East Plymouth was a European Parliament constituency covering all of Devon in England, with the exception of the city of Plymouth. It was created in 1994 to replace the majority of Devon and a small part of Cornwall and Plymouth....
constituency and almost certainly prevented the Liberal Democrats from gaining a third seat from the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
.
- Overall (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) turnoutVoter turnoutVoter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
: 36.8% (EU average: 57%) - Overall votes cast: 15,852,589
England, Scotland and Wales
Sources:*UK Office of the European Parliament
*United Kingdom election results
Note: Percentages are approximate
| Party | Votes | Seats | Loss/Gain | Share of Vote (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6,753,863 | 62 | +17 | 44 | ||
| 4,248,531 | 18 | -13 | 28 | ||
| 2,552,730 | 2 | +2 | 17 | ||
| 494,561 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 487,239 | 2 | +1 | 3 | ||
| 162,478 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 151,858 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 150,251 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 100,500 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 96,554 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 12,469 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Moderate Labour Moderate Labour Party The Moderate Labour Party was a minor political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded in about 1985 by former members of the Labour Party who were opposed to the miners' strike.... |
12,113 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Independent Democrat | 10,203 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7,798 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 5,847 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Independent Socialist | 5,071 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4,323 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 3,315 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Total votes cast - 15,292,722. All parties with more than 3,000 votes shown.
Northern Ireland
Source: Northern Ireland Social and Political Archive| Party | Candidate(s) | Seats | Loss/Gain | First Preference Votes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % of vote | ||||||
| Ian Paisley Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, PC is a politician and church minister in Northern Ireland. As the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party , he and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness were elected First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively on 8 May 2007.In addition to co-founding... |
1 | 0 | 163,246 | 29.2 | |||
| John Hume John Hume John Hume is a former Irish politician from Derry, Northern Ireland. He was a founding member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, and was co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize, with David Trimble.... |
1 | 0 | 161,992 | 28.9 | |||
| Jim Nicholson Jim Nicholson (UK politician) James Frederick "Jim" Nicholson is a Northern Ireland Ulster Unionist Party politician, who is currently a Member of the European Parliament .-Career:... |
1 | 0 | 133,459 | 23.8 | |||
| Tom Hartley Tom Hartley Tom Hartley is a historian and Irish republican politician.Hartley grew up in the Falls Road area of Belfast and became a republican activist in the late 1960s. In 1970, he was imprisoned in the Crumlin Road gaol for ten months for riotous behaviour; he was again imprisoned in 1978... , Dodie McGuinness Dodie McGuinness Dodie McGuinness is an Irish Republican politician.Born Anne Harkin, McGuinness worked at Altnagelvin Hospital before becoming involved in the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, then joining Sinn Féin in 1972. She was present at the events of Bloody Sunday.Harkin married the brother of... , Francie Molloy Francie Molloy Francie Molloy MLA is a Sinn Féin politician and a deputy speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.He first stood for Sinn Féin in Fermanagh and South Tyrone in the 1982 Assembly Elections finishing as runner-up 542 votes behind the DUP candidate with over 1400 SDLP votes non-transferable... |
0 | 0 | 55,215 | 9.9 | |||
| Mary Clark-Glass Mary Clark-Glass Mary Clark-Glass is an academic, medical administrator and former politician in Northern Ireland.Clark-Glass became a lecturer in law at the Queens University of Belfast in 1974, and became a known as a commentator on legal and human rights issues and as a prominent feminist... |
0 | 0 | 23,157 | 4.1 | |||
| Hugh Ross Hugh Ross (politician) Hugh Ross is a Presbyterian minister and member of the Orange Order, who was previously the leader of the now defunct Ulster Independence Movement .-UIM leadership:... |
0 | 0 | 7,858 | 1.4 | |||
| Myrtle Boal | 0 | 0 | 5,583 | 1.0 | |||
| John Lowry John Lowry For the 19th-century baseball player, see John Lowry .John Lowry is the General Secretary of the Workers' Party in Ireland. He is a native of the Lower Falls area of Belfast.... |
0 | 0 | 2,543 | 0.5 | |||
| Niall Cusack | 0 | 0 | 2,464 | 0.4 | |||
| James Anderson, Susannah Thompson, Michael Kennedy |
0 | 0 | 2,291 | 0.4 | |||
| Peace Coalition | June Campion | 0 | 0 | 1,088 | 0.2 | ||
| Independent Ulster Ulster Third Way The Ulster Third Way is the Northern Ireland branch of the Third Way and is organised by David Kerr, who had previously campaigned as an 'independent Unionist' as well as for the British National Front.As well as sharing the Third Way's aims U3W is committed to securing independence... |
David Kerr | 0 | 0 | 579 | 0.1 | ||
| Constitutional Independent NI | Robert Mooney | 0 | 0 | 400 | 0.1 | ||
Total votes cast - 559,867.
Party Leaders on 5 June 1994
- Labour - Margaret BeckettMargaret BeckettMargaret Mary Beckett is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Derby South since 1983, rising to become the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party under John Smith, from 18 July 1992 to 12 May 1994, and briefly serving as Leader of the Party following Smith's death...
(As Deputy Leader assumed the leadership upon the death of leader John SmithJohn Smith (UK politician)John Smith was a British Labour Party politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party from July 1992 until his sudden death from a heart attack in May 1994...
) - Conservative - John MajorJohn MajorSir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
- Liberal Democrat - Paddy AshdownPaddy AshdownJeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, GCMG, KBE, PC , usually known as Paddy Ashdown, is a British politician and diplomat....
- Green - Jan ClarkJan ClarkJan Clark is an environmentalist and politician in the United Kingdom.Living in South Ferriby, North Lincolnshire, Clark worked as a deputy headteacher. In 1982, she joined the Ecology Party, following concerns about nitrate levels in drinking water...
(Principal speaker) - SNP - Alex SalmondAlex SalmondAlexander Elliot Anderson "Alex" Salmond MSP is a Scottish politician and current First Minister of Scotland. He became Scotland's fourth First Minister in May 2007. He is the Leader of the Scottish National Party , having served as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Gordon...
- Plaid Cymru - Dafydd Elis Thomas
- UK Independence Party - Alan SkedAlan SkedAlan Sked is Professor of International History at the London School of Economics . He studied History at Glasgow, then Merton College, Oxford. His doctoral supervisor at Oxford was A. J. P. Taylor, who was a major influence on Sked. In particular, Sked's writings on the Habsburg Monarchy owe much...
- Liberal Party - Michael MeadowcroftMichael MeadowcroftMichael James Meadowcroft is a politician and political affairs consultant in the United Kingdom.He was a Liberal Member of Parliament for Leeds West from 1983 to 1987, and founder of the "continuing" Liberal Party in 1989 following the party's merger with the Social Democratic Party to form the...
- DUP - Ian PaisleyIan PaisleyIan Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, PC is a politician and church minister in Northern Ireland. As the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party , he and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness were elected First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively on 8 May 2007.In addition to co-founding...
- SDLP - John HumeJohn HumeJohn Hume is a former Irish politician from Derry, Northern Ireland. He was a founding member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, and was co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize, with David Trimble....
- UUP - James MolyneauxJames MolyneauxJames Henry Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead, KBE, PC is a Northern Irish Unionist politician and was leader of the Ulster Unionist Party from 1979 to 1995. He was a leading member and sometime Vice-President of the Conservative Monday Club...
See also
- Elections in the United Kingdom: European elections
- MEPs for the UK 1994 - 1999