Hucknall
Today (UK)
Euro
vote to be done by post
May 20, 2004
VOTING in Hucknall and the rest of the
Dispatch district for next month's European Elections is to
be by post, instead of at polling stations.
The experiment, which was announced
exclusively in the Dispatch last year, is being carried out
in a bid to increase voter-turnout and to help more disabled
and elderly people have their say. Ballot papers are due to
be sent from next Tuesday to everyone eligible to vote. They
should then be returned, by post, by 10 pm on election day
(Thursday June 10), with Royal Mail advising that ballot
papers should be in the post no later than Tuesday June 8.
Alternatively, from June 1, you can take your vote to a
special 'assistance and delivery point', details of which
will be on your ballot paper. The votes will be counted on
June 13, in line with other European countries.
The Hucknall and Bulwell area is part of the East Midlands
constituency, in which six seats are up for grabs. The seats
are currently held by two Labour Euro-MPs, Mel Read, who is
stepping down, and Phillip Whitehead, Conservative duo,
Roger Helmer and Chris Heaton-Harris and Liberal Democrats
Bill Newton Dunn and Nick Clegg, who is also stepping down.
Eight parties and 44 candidates are contesting next month's
election in the East Midlands.
The three main parties ��� Labour, Conservative and the
Liberal Democrats ��� are all fielding six candidates. Six
names have also been put forward by the British National
Party, the UK Independence Party, spearheaded by ex-TV
presenter Robert Kilroy-Silk, the Green Party and Respect
��� The Unity Coalition. Two further candidates are standing
as Independents.
Voting is by the proportional representation system whereby
a party puts forward a list of names with its strongest
candidates at the top. The voter chooses a party, not a
candidate, and the parties receive a number of seats
proportionate to the votes it receives.
For instance, in a constituency with ten Euro-MPs, if a
party gets ten per cent of the vote, it wins ten per cent of
the seats ��� ie one, who would be the first person on its
list. If a party gets 20% of the votes, it wins two seats,
the first two names on the list. The full list of candidates
in the East Midlands reads:
CONSERVATIVE ��� Roger Helmer, Chris Heaton-Harris, Pauline
Latham, Sharon Buckle, Jonathan Bullock and Sarah
Richardson.
LABOUR ��� Phillip Whitehead, Glenis Willmott, Ross Willmott,
Vandna Kalia, Alan Rhodes and Elizabeth Donnelly.
LIBERAL DEMOCRATS ��� Bill Newton Dunn, Dr Alan Riley, Veena
Hudson, Richard Church, Deborah Newton-Cook, Lisa Gabriel.
GREEN PARTY ��� Brian Fewster, Sue Blount, Bob Ball, Simon
Anthony, Paul Bodenham, John Chadwick.
UK INDEPENDENCE PARTY ��� Robert Kilroy-silk, Derek Clark,
Ian Gillman, Peter Baker, Kenneth Browne and Barry Mahoney.
BRITISH NATIONAL PARTY ��� Peter Francis, Clive Potter,
Patrick May, John Pennington, Wendy Russell and John Hall.
RESPECT ��� THE UNITY COALITION ��� Mohammed Suleman, Sulma
Mansuri, Pauline Robinson, Helen Merryman, Craig Plowman and
Mary Littlefield.
INDEPENDENTS ��� Shadmyraine Halliday and Russell Rogers.
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