2004 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom
The European Parliament election, 2004 was the UK part of the European Parliament election, 2004. It was held on 10 June. It was the first European election to be held in the United Kingdom using postal-only voting in four areas. It coincided with local and regional elections.
The Conservative Party and the Labour Party both polled poorly. The Conservatives, although getting a vote share 4.1% greater than Labour, still 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 the United Kingdom Independence Party.
The United Kingdom Independence Party did exceptionally well, and managed to increase its number of MEPs from 3 to 12, pushing the Liberal Democrats into fourth place. UKIP received a very large increase in media coverage before the elections, partly because of the appointment of Robert Kilroy-Silk as a candidate. The actress Joan Collins also became a member and announced her support for the party.
Other minor parties also posted vote gains.
In Northern Ireland, as expected, Sinn Féin beat the SDLP in the polls and took its first Northern Ireland seat. This coincided with its winning a seat in the corresponding elections in the Republic.
Gibraltar voted for the first time, as part of the South West England region. The Conservative Party won overwhelming support there on a higher than average turnout. For full results, see European Parliament Election, 2004 (Gibraltar).
Results
- Turnout for all the regions was 37.6% on an electorate of 45,309,760.
Source: BBC
style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" | style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" | style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #6D3177;" data-sort-value="United Kingdom Independence Party" | style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" | style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #02A95B;" data-sort-value="Green Party of England and Wales" | style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #2e3b74;" data-sort-value="British National Party" | style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #46801c;" data-sort-value="RESPECT The Unity Coalition" | style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #FDF38E;" data-sort-value="Scottish National Party" | style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #005B54;" data-sort-value="Plaid Cymru" | style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #915F6D;" data-sort-value="English Democrats Party" | style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #EB7A43;" data-sort-value="Liberal Party (UK, 1989)" | style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #00B140;" data-sort-value="Scottish Green Party" | style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #ff0000;" data-sort-value="Scottish Socialist Party" | style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #813887;" data-sort-value="Christian Peoples Alliance" | style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: olive;" data-sort-value="Countryside Party (UK)" | style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #9966CC;" data-sort-value="Operation Christian Vote" | style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #333333;" data-sort-value="Prolife Alliance" | style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #FF3333;" data-sort-value="Forward Wales" | style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #00A86B;" data-sort-value="Alliance for Green Socialism" | style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #F8F9FA;" data-sort-value="Peace Party" || Party | Votes | % | Change | Seats | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 4,397,090 | 26.7 | -9.0 | 27 | -8 | |
| Labour | 3,718,683 | 22.6 | -5.4 | 19 | -6 | |
| UKIP | 2,650,768 | 16.1 | +9.2 | 12 | +10 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 2,452,327 | 14.9 | +2.3 | 12 | +2 | |
| Green | 1,033,093 | 6.3 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | |
| BNP | 808,200 | 4.9 | +3.9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Respect | 252,252 | 1.5 | +1.5 | 0 | 0 | |
| SNP | 231,505 | 1.4 | -1.3 | 2 | 0 | |
| Plaid Cymru | 159,888 | 1.0 | -0.9 | 1 | 0 | |
| English Democrat | 130,056 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Liberal | 96,325 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Scottish Green | 79,695 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Scottish Socialist | 61,356 | 0 | 0 | |||
| CPA | 56,771 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Senior Citizens | 42,861 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Countryside | 42,107 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Pensioners | 33,501 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Christian Vote | 21,056 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Prolife Alliance | 20,393 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Forward Wales | 17,280 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Alliance for Green Socialism | 13,776 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Peace Party | 12,572 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 17,028,947 | |||||
- All parties with over 10,000 votes listed.
There are 9 English regions:
East Midlands
Source: BBC
- Turnout was 43.4% on an electorate of 3,241,566
| Party | Votes | % | Change | Seats | MEPs elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative Party | 371,362 | 26.4 | -13.1 | 2 | Chris Heaton-Harris, Roger Helmer |
| UK Independence Party | 366,498 | 26.1 | +18.5 | 2 | Derek Clark, Robert Kilroy-Silk (now Ind) |
| Labour Party | 294,198 | 21.0 | -7.6 | 1 | Phillip Whitehead (d. 2005, replaced by Glenis Willmott) |
| Liberal Democrats | 181,964 | 12.9 | +0.2 | 1 | Bill Newton Dunn |
| British National Party | 91,860 | 6.5 | +5.2 | 0 | - |
| Green Party | 76,633 | 5.5 | +0.1 | 0 | - |
| RESPECT | 20,009 | 1.4 | +1.4 | 0 | - |
| Independent - Rogers | 2,615 | 0.2 | +0.2 | 0 | - |
| Independent - Halliday | 847 | 0.1 | +0.1 | 0 | - |
Source: BBC
- Turnout was 36.5% on an electorate of 4,170,840
| Party | Votes | % | Change | Seats | MEPs elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative Party | 465,526 | 30.8 | -11.9 | 3 | Christopher Beazley, Robert Sturdy, Geoffrey van Orden |
| UK Independence Party | 296,160 | 19.6 | +10.7 | 2 | Jeffrey Titford, Tom Wise (suspended) |
| Labour Party | 244,929 | 16.2 | -8.9 | 1 | Richard Howitt |
| Liberal Democrats | 211,378 | 14.0 | +2.1 | 1 | Andrew Duff |
| Independent - Martin Bell | 93,028 | 6.2 | +6.2 | 0 | - |
| Green Party | 84,068 | 5.6 | -0.6 | 0 | - |
| British National Party | 65,557 | 4.3 | +3.4 | 0 | - |
| English Democrats Party | 26,807 | 1.8 | +1.8 | 0 | - |
| RESPECT | 13,904 | 0.9 | +0.9 | 0 | - |
| Independent - Naisbitt | 5,137 | 0.3 | +0.3 | 0 | - |
| Prolife Alliance | 3,730 | 0.3 | +0.3 | 0 | - |
London
Source: BBC
- Turnout was 37.3% on an electorate of 5,143,392
| Party | Votes | % | Change | Seats | MEPs elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative Party | 504,941 | 26.8 | -5.9 | 3 | John Bowis, Charles Tannock, Theresa Villiers (resigned 2005 and replaced by Syed Kamall) |
| Labour Party | 466,584 | 24.8 | -10.3 | 3 | Robert Evans, Mary Honeyball, Claude Moraes |
| Liberal Democrats | 288,790 | 15.3 | +3.7 | 1 | Sarah Ludford |
| UK Independence Party | 232,633 | 12.3 | +6.9 | 1 | Gerard Batten |
| Green Party | 158,986 | 8.4 | +0.8 | 1 | Jean Lambert |
| RESPECT | 91,175 | 4.8 | +4.8 | 0 | - |
| British National Party | 76,152 | 4.0 | +2.5 | 0 | - |
| Christian Peoples Alliance | 45,038 | 2.4 | +2.4 | 0 | - |
| English Democrats Party | 15,945 | 0.9 | +0.9 | 0 | - |
| PPBG | 5,205 | 0.3 | +0.3 | 0 | - |
North East
Source: BBC
- Turnout was 40.8% on an electorate of 1,922,446
| Party | Votes | % | Change | Seats | MEPs elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Party | 266,057 | 34.1 | -8.1 | 1 | Stephen Hughes |
| Conservative Party | 144,969 | 18.6 | -8.8 | 1 | Martin Callanan |
| Liberal Democrats | 138,791 | 17.8 | +4.3 | 1 | Fiona Hall |
| UK Independence Party | 94,887 | 12.2 | +3.3 | 0 | - |
| British National Party | 50,249 | 6.4 | +5.5 | 0 | - |
| Independent - Herron | 39,658 | 5.1 | +5.1 | 0 | - |
| Green Party | 37,247 | 4.8 | +0.1 | 0 | - |
| RESPECT | 8,633 | 1.1 | +1.1 | 0 | - |
North West
Source: BBC
- Turnout was 40.9% on an electorate of 5,188,717
| Party | Votes | % | Change | Seats | MEPs elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Party | 576,388 | 27.4 | -7.1 | 3 | Terry Wynn (resigned 2006 and replaced by Brian Simpson), Arlene McCarthy, Gary Titley |
| Conservative Party | 509,466 | 24.2 | -11.2 | 3 | Robert Atkins, Den Dover, David Sumberg |
| Liberal Democrats | 335,063 | 15.9 | +4.2 | 2 | Chris Davies, Saj Karim |
| UK Independence Party | 257,158 | 11.7 | +5.2 | 1 | John Whittaker |
| British National Party | 134,959 | 6.4 | +5.1 | 0 | - |
| Green Party | 117,393 | 5.6 | - | 0 | - |
| Liberal Party | 96,325 | 4.6 | +2.4 | 0 | - |
| English Democrats Party | 34,110 | 1.6 | +1.6 | 0 | - |
| RESPECT | 24,636 | 1.2 | +1.2 | 0 | - |
| Countryside Party | 11,283 | 0.5 | +0.5 | 0 | - |
| Prolife Alliance | 10,084 | 0.5 | +0.5 | 0 | - |
| Independent - Neal | 8,318 | 0.4 | +0.4 | 0 | - |
South East
- Turnout was 36.5% on an electorate of 6,087,103
| Party | Votes | % | Change | Seats | MEPs returned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative Party | 776,370 | 35.2 | -9.3 | 4 | Richard Ashworth, Nirj Deva, James Elles, Daniel Hannan |
| UK Independence Party | 431,111 | 19.5 | +9.8 | 2 | Nigel Farage, Ashley Mote (now independent) |
| Liberal Democrats | 338,342 | 15.3 | - | 2 | Chris Huhne (resigned 2005 and replaced by Sharon Bowles), Emma Nicholson |
| Labour Party | 301,398 | 13.7 | -6.0 | 1 | Peter Skinner |
| Green Party | 173,351 | 7.9 | +0.4 | 1 | Caroline Lucas |
| British National Party | 64,877 | 2.9 | +2.1 | 0 | - |
| Senior Citizens Party | 42,861 | 1.9 | +1.9 | 0 | - |
| English Democrats Party | 29,126 | 1.3 | +1.3 | 0 | - |
| RESPECT | 13,426 | 0.6 | +0.6 | 0 | - |
| Peace Party | 12,572 | 0.6 | +0.6 | 0 | - |
| Christian Peoples Alliance | 11,733 | 0.5 | +0.5 | 0 | - |
| Prolife Alliance | 6,579 | 0.3 | +0.3 | 0 | - |
| Independent - Rhodes | 5,671 | 0.3 | +0.3 | 0 | - |
South West
- Turnout was 37.6% on an electorate of 3,845,253
| Party | Votes | % | Change | Seats | MEPs elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative Party | 457,371 | 31.6 | -10.1 | 3 | Giles Chichester, Caroline Jackson, Neil Parish |
| UK Independence Party | 326,784 | 22.6 | +11.9 | 2 | Graham Booth, Roger Knapman |
| Liberal Democrats | 265,619 | 18.3 | +1.9 | 1 | Graham Watson |
| Labour Party | 209,908 | 14.5 | -3.6 | 1 | Glyn Ford |
| Green Party | 103,821 | 7.2 | -1.1 | 0 | - |
| British National Party | 43,653 | 3.0 | +2.1 | 0 | - |
| Countryside Party | 30,824 | 2.1 | +2.1 | 0 | - |
| RESPECT | 10,473 | 0.7 | +0.7 | 0 | - |
Gibraltar was considered to be part of South West England for the purposes of the election. The Conservative Party won overwhelming support there. For full results, see European Parliament Election, 2004 (Gibraltar).
West Midlands
- Turnout was 36.0% on an electorate of 4,016,007
| Party | Votes | % | Change | Seats | MEPS elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative Party | 392,937 | 27.3 | -10.6 | 3 | Philip Bushill-Matthews, Philip Bradbourn, Malcolm Harbour |
| Labour Party | 336,613 | 23.4 | -4.6 | 2 | Michael Cashman, Neena Gill |
| UK Independence Party | 251,366 | 17.5 | +11.6 | 1 | Mike Natrass |
| Liberal Democrats | 197,479 | 13.7 | +2.5 | 1 | Liz Lynne |
| British National Party | 107,794 | 7.5 | +5.8 | 0 | - |
| Green Party | 73,991 | 5.2 | -0.7 | 0 | - |
| RESPECT | 34,704 | 2.4 | +2.4 | 0 | - |
| Pensioners Party | 33,501 | 2.3 | +2.3 | 0 | - |
| The Common Good | 8,650 | 0.6 | +0.6 | 0 | - |
Yorkshire and Humber
- Turnout was 42.6% on an electorate of 3,730,275
| Party | Votes | % | Change | Seats | MEPs elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Party | 413,213 | 26.3 | -5.1 | 2 | Richard Corbett, Linda McAvan |
| Conservative Party | 387,369 | 24.6 | -12.0 | 2 | Timothy Kirkhope, Edward McMillan-Scott |
| Liberal Democrats | 244,607 | 15.6 | +1.2 | 1 | Diana Wallis |
| UK Independence Party | 228,666 | 14.5 | +7.4 | 1 | Godfrey Bloom |
| British National Party | 126,538 | 8.0 | +6.8 | 0 | - |
| Green Party | 90,337 | 5.7 | - | 0 | - |
| RESPECT | 29,865 | 1.9 | +1.9 | 0 | - |
| English Democrats Party | 24,068 | 1.5 | +1.5 | 0 | - |
| Independent - Ellis | 14,762 | 0.9 | +0.9 | 0 | - |
| Alliance for Green Socialism | 13,776 | 0.9 | +0.9 | 0 | - |
Source: BBC
- Turnout was 30.9% on an electorate of 3,877,194
| Party | Votes | % | Change | Seats | MEPs elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Party | 310,865 | 26.4 | -2.3 | 2 | David Martin, Catherine Stihler |
| Scottish National Party | 231,505 | 19.7 | -7.5 | 2 | Ian Hudghton, Alyn Smith |
| Conservative Party | 209,028 | 17.8 | -2.0 | 2 | John Purvis, Struan Stevenson |
| Liberal Democrats | 154,178 | 13.1 | +3.3 | 1 | Elspeth Attwooll |
| Scottish Green Party | 79,695 | 6.8 | +1.0 | 0 | - |
| UK Independence Party | 78,828 | 6.7 | +5.4 | 0 | - |
| Scottish Socialist Party | 61,356 | 5.2 | +1.2 | 0 | - |
| Operation Christian Vote | 21,056 | 1.8 | +1.8 | 0 | - |
| British National Party | 19,427 | 1.7 | +1.3 | 0 | - |
| Scottish Wind Watch | 7,255 | 0.6 | +0.6 | 0 | - |
| Independent - Tait | 3,624 | 0.3 | +0.3 | 0 | - |
Source: BBC
- Turnout was 41.4% on an electorate of 2,228,030
| Party | Votes | % | Change | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Party | 297,810 | 32.5 | +0.6 | 2 |
| Conservative Party | 177,771 | 19.4 | -3.4 | 1 |
| Plaid Cymru | 159,888 | 17.4 | -12.2 | 1 |
| UK Independence Party | 96,677 | 10.5 | +7.4 | 0 |
| Liberal Democrats | 96,166 | 10.2 | +2.3 | 0 |
| Green Party | 32,761 | 3.6 | +1.0 | 0 |
| British National Party | 27,135 | 3.0 | +3.0 | 0 |
| Forward Wales | 17,280 | 1.9 | +1.9 | 0 |
| Christian Democratic Party | 6,821 | 0.7 | +0.7 | 0 |
| RESPECT | 5,427 | 0.6 | +1.9 | 0 |
Source: BBC
- Turnout was 51.72 % on an electorate of 1,072,669
| Party | Candidate(s) | Seats | Loss/Gain | First Preference Votes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % of vote | ||||||
| DUP | Jim Allister | 1 | 0 | 175,761 | 31.9 | ||
| Sinn Féin | Bairbre de Brun | 1 | +1 | 144,541 | 26.3 | ||
| UUP | Jim Nicholson | 1 | 0 | 91,164 | 16.6 | ||
| SDLP | Martin Morgan | 0 | -1 | 87,559 | 15.9 | - | |
| Independent | John Gilliland | 0 | 0 | 36,270 | 6.6 | - | |
| Socialist Environmental | Eamon McCann | 0 | 0 | 9,172 | 1.6 | - | |
| Green (NI) | Lindsay Whitcroft | 0 | 0 | 4,810 | 0.9 | - | |
Party Leaders in June 2004
- Conservative - Michael Howard
- Labour - Tony Blair
- Liberal Democrat - Charles Kennedy
- UK Independence Party - Roger Knapman
- Green Party Principal Speakers - Caroline Lucas and Mike Woodin
- SNP - John Swinney
- Plaid Cymru - Dafydd Iwan and Ieuan Wyn Jones
- BNP - Nick Griffin
- DUP - Ian Paisley
- SDLP - Mark Durkan
- UUP - David Trimble
- Sinn Féin - Gerry Adams
See also
- Members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom 2004-2009 (alphabetic order, can be sorted by constituency, party or party group)
External links
Source
Other guides
- European Election News by European Election Law Association (Eurela)
- Guide and results at the UK Office of the European Parliament
- Guide and links Richard Kimber's at Political Science Resources
Manifestos and documents
- Guardian (newspaper): incomplete collection of manifestos
- Conservative manifesto (ED)
- European Greens manifesto; Successes of the Greens in the European Parliament; A Green Contract for Europe; European Election Manifesto: Green Party of England and Wales Manifesto: Northern Ireland (EGP)
- Labour document (PES)
- Liberal Democrat manifesto (ELDR)
- UK Independence Party manifesto (EDD)
Northern Ireland only:
- Democratic Unionist Party manifesto (NI - non-attached)
- Sinn Féin
- Social Democratic and Labour Party manifesto (PES)
- Socialist Environmental Alliance manifesto
- Ulster Unionist Party manifesto European manifesto (ED)
Scotland only:
Wales only:
