EU elections EXPLAINED: UK WILL take part in EU elections - how to cast your vote

THERESA MAY’S de facto deputy, David Lidington, has confirmed the UK will need to take part in the upcoming EU elections, despite the Prime Minister’s hopes to get a Brexit deal through and pull out of the election at the last minute.

Theresa May said the UK would not have to take part in the May 23 European Parliament elections if MPs agreed a plan first. But on Tuesday, Mr Lidington said “regrettably” it is “not going to be possible to finish that process” before the and legally, the UK must take part. The UK is working toward an October 31 Brexit deadline, after the process was delayed twice.

Everything you need to know about the EU elections:

How does it work?

Every five years, EU voters go to the polls to elect members of the European Parliament (MEPs).

The European Parliament is made up of 751 MEPs in total from all across the EU, elected by citizens.


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EU elections: Theresa May hoped to get a Brexit deal through before the election (Image: Getty)

Each of the 28 EU countries is allocated a set number of seats, roughly depending on the size of its population - the UK has 73.

The UK is divided up into 12 regions, each represented by a number of candidates from political parties or standing independently.

The number of candidates per region depends on the population of the region - for example, the north-east of England has three MEPs while London has eight as the population is bigger.

Once in the European Parliament, MEPs sit in one of eight political alliances within the Parliament, aligned with those who share a similar political affiliation.

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EU elections: David Lidington confirmed the UK will need to take part in the election (Image: Getty)

How can you vote?

Today is the deadline to register to vote - you can do so HERE.

If you’re already registered to vote, you’ll receive a polling card in the post telling you where to go to vote on Thursday, May 23.

You can vote either in person at a polling station, by post, or by proxy - you can find out how to this HERE.

You need to be 18 or over to vote, and don’t need to take any documentation to the polling stations, but your polling card can come in handy.

You can find out more about voting HERE.

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EU elections: The UK is divided up into 12 regions for the vote (Image: europarl)

Who are the candidates?

There are candidates from across the political spectrum as well as independents standing.

For a list in your region, follow the links below:

  1. East Midlands

  2. Eastern

  3. London

  4. North East

  5. North West

  6. Northern Ireland

  7. Scotland

  8. South East

  9. South West

  10. Wales

  11. West Midlands

  12. Yorkshire and Humber