How well do you know the parties' policies?
I have always been a euro-enthusiast – as far back as I can remember. My earliest recollection about this topic was when I was ten, in the sixties, eating an ice-cream in the main square of Sarajevo, Bosnia. I envisioned a united Europe from Portugal to the Ukraine and from Greece to Finland. Of course, it needed the iron curtain to fall but I believed that would only be a matter of time. People told me that the very idea was fantastic – in the traditional sense of the word – but I felt that one day both the US and the SU would leave the people of Europe in peace. If America and Russia wanted to fight, I thought, why could they not do it where they meet over the Baring Straights instead of in central Europe?
European partnership has taken longer than I thought but we are getting there. As I get older, I realise that not everybody shares my enthusiasm for the union and, especially in Britain; some people are hostile to the idea. But whatever your views, given that the Euro elections use a form of proportional representation (but not the best type) your vote has more weight.
The Euro-elections enable us to elect our representatives to the lower house or, more simply, the European House of Commons. We cannot elect the members of the European upper house because they are appointed – just like the House of Lords in Britain. But unlike the House of Lords the European upper house or Council of Ministers has veto powers.
There are seven parties in the European parliament which currently have representatives from Britain: the largest is the People’s Party (Conservatives); second the Socialists (Labour); third the Liberals; fourth the United Left (Sinn Fein); fifth the Greens; sixth the Independence Party (UKIP); and finally the Free Alliance Party (SNP and Plaid Cymru). Not all of the parties are standing in all the constituencies but there are many other parties – as yet unelected, to choose from.
Even if you think you know who you want to vote for – and please go to vote even if you feel like spoiling your ballot paper – click on Vote Match to test your views against the parties standing in your constituency.
The tool is incredibly simple: give your opinion on thirty statements, mark which ones you consider to be particularly important or unimportant, and the website calculates where you stand in relation to the parties based on their own responses to the same statements. It’s totally transparent – the website doesn’t just give you a match, it explains how the calculation was made.
I don’t expect you to base your vote on the result Vote Match gives you but I do hope it makes you think. And if you have no idea of how to vote next month, I hope it will help you make up your mind.
Have a go straight away. And please forward it on to all your friends and family to help them make up their minds as well. They’ve tried to make this as easy for you as possible.
On the “party choice” question at the end I suggest that you select all by skipping the page. It means that you can compare your thoughts with all parties. You can skip the details section at the end too.
Many of people have been very surprised by the results – it has made them reconsider who they were going to vote for.
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Comments
Pedants of the world unite ...
Sinn Fein doesn't represent anyone "from Britain" in the European Parliament, although I believe it may represent some inhabitants of the 6 (currently annexed) northern-eastern counties of Ireland, which is referred to by some as being part of the "United Kingdom".
...... and now I'll go back to counting the number of angels on the head of that pin .......
Sinn Fein represents Britain!?!?
It depends on how you look at it. At the ETA we use the term Britain as the short form of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. We have no need to use the term "Great" as few people nowadays confuse Great Britain with Little Britain (Brittany).
The word Britain like Ireland can be used in geographic or political terms: they may be considered as islands or countries.
The Shetland Isles are not part of Britain the island - nor is Northern Ireland or the Isle of Wight but all three are part of Britain the country.
Donegal is part of Ireland the island and Ireland the country whereas Derry is part of Ireland the island but not part of the Ireland the country because it is in the country of Britain.
Of course, for some time the governments of Britain and Ireland did not recognize each others boundaries. Ireland claimed "the six counties" as did Britain so their own de jure positions included “the six counties”. Through physical might Britain occupies "the six counties" so the de facto position favours (sic) Britain. Recently the de jure position in Ireland has been brought into line with the de facto position.
People do not represent geological formations but political entities. Therefore, in this context, Sinn Fein stands for election in Britain even though they want “the six counties” to return to Ireland. I was conscious of this when I wrote the article.
Few countries are coterminous with their obvious physicality, for example: Bornholm in Denmark (let alone Greenland), Helgoland in Germany, Corsica in France, Majorca in Spain - the list is endless.
I am not sure that there are six counties any more – I understand that they have been converted into twenty districts.