Euro elections – who are your new MEPs in the East of England, London, the South East, and the South West?

A key theme of Democratic Audit’s recent work has been the need to radically improve the feedback loop from election outcomes back to voters, and nowhere is this clearer than with the European Parliament elections. Here the votes are counted and results only in the late evening three days after polls have closed, and typically only the first one or elected MEPs out of the 3 to 10 elected per region are shown by broadcasters for maybe a minute. Little wonder then that most UK voters have no ideas who their MEPs are. Here the Democratic Audit team redress the balance by providing brief details and links to learn more about all the new MEPs elected this weekend, beginning with the four southernmost regions of England – the South West, South East, London and the East of England.

East of England constituency (7 MEPs)

Full election results for this region can be found on Wikipedia here

UKIP ‘s MEPs for East of England

UKIP topped the poll in the region (and also did well in Essex council elections) and saw their top three candidates elected. The first was Patrick O’Flynn. Until recently he was Chief political commentator for the Daily Express newspaper. He is also UKIP’s current Head of Communications. Seen by many as a potential future leader of the party, he was the first candidate elected for the region. His Twitter account can be found here.

Also elected was the incumbent UKIP MEP for the region Stuart Agnew, who has been in office since 2009. He is a member of the agriculture committee and a reserve member of the constitution committee. Information about his record as an MEP can be found on his Votewatch EU profile here. He is a farmer with an interest in agricultural issues. He won the fourth seat allocated.

Tim Aker is third UKIP candidate elected.. He is currently the party’s Head of Policy, and additionally their Parliamentary candidate for Thurrock at the 2015 General Election, though we do not currently know whether that will remain the case given his election. His Twitter account can be found here.

The Conservatives’ MEPs for East of England

The Tories also secured the election of their top three candidates in East of England, a region they have long dominated. The first successful candidate was Vicky Ford, who was first elected in 2009 and who this time won the second seat allocated. She is the Conservative Spokesperson for Industry and Research on the Parliament’s ITRE committee, which also includes work on energy. She is also a member of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee. Information about her record as an MEP can be found on the respected Votewatch EU site, with her profile here. Previously she worked in finance and her Twitter profile is here.

The Conservatives’ second successful candidate was fellow incumbent MEP Geoffrey Van Orden, who won the fifth seat allocated. First elected in 1999, he is the party’s spokesman in the European Parliament for defence and security issues, and is a former soldier. His voting and attendance records can also be found on Votewatch EU here and he too was comfortably re-elected.

David Campbell-Bannerman was third on the Conservative Party list for the constituency and was elected for the first time as a Conservative MEP. He defected from UKIP to the Conservatives in 2011, despite having been the main author of the UKIP 2010 General Election manifesto, and having finished third in UKIP’s last leadership election, behind Nigel Farage and Tim Congdon. However, before joining UKIP Campbell-Bannerman was previously a member of the Conservative Party and a Conservative Party councillor, so his re-defection is a homecoming of sorts. His Votewatch EU profile can be found here and his Twitter account is here.

Labour’s MEP for East of England

The incumbent MEP Richard Howitt was re-elected. He topped Labour’s list and won the third seat allocated. He is Labour’s foreign affairs spokesman in the European Parliament and has been an MEP since 1994. Full information about his record in Brussels can be found here on his Votewatch EU profile. His Twitter profile is here.

Who lost out in 2014?

The Greens’ Rupert Read failed to win the final seat in the region by just 2372 votes – his party could be in a with a good chance next time.

Another main casualty of this election was Andrew Duff, the Liberal Democrats’ previous MEP from 1999 to 2014, who lost his seat.

About the East of England region

This region covers East Anglia plus a substantial nearby chunk of south-east England (in order to stop that next-door government region from being too big and dominant). East of England more or less fits with the Anglia TV area, and has borders that run to London to the south, the North Sea to the east, and Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes and Northamptonshire on the east. You live in the east of England if you are in one of its big cities or towns, including Norwich, Ipswich, Cambridge, Peterborough, Bedford, Luton, Thurrock, Colchester and Southend-on-Sea; or the surrounding counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Sussex; or the unitary authority in Central Bedfordshire.

—

London Constituency (8 MEPs)

Full election results for this region can be found on Wikipedia here

Labour’s MEPs for London

Claude Moraes was Labour’s number one candidate for the London constituency, and was re-elected comfortably. He has been an MEP in Brussels since 1999 and is Deputy Leader of the Labour group and spokesperson for home affairs and justice for the Socialist and Democrats group in the European Parliament. Along with all other MEPs his Brussels record of activity is monitored by the independent VoteWatch thinktank, and their profile for him is here. His Twitter account is here.

Second on the Labour list is another incumbent, Mary Honeyball, who became an MEP in 2000. She is Labour spokesperson on women’s rights and gender equality and her VoteWatch profile is here. Her Twitter account is here. She, too, was comfortably re-elected in what was a good election for Labour in the capital.

Lucy Anderson was Labour’s third-placed candidate, and won the fifth seat on offer. She is a former Councillor in the London Borough of Camden and is currently a senior manager at National Union of Teachers, with a Twitter account here.

Labour’s fourth candidate was Seb Dance, who currently works for an international development charity. It is testement to the strength of Labour’s performance in London that he was elected, given the difficulties of winning a sufficient amount of the vote in a PR election to win 50% of the seats on offer.

The Conservatives’ MEPs for London

Syed Kamall won the second available seat in the London constituency. He assumed office in 2005 and is also the Leader of the Conservative group in the European Parliament. His voting record can be found on VoteWatch here, and his Twitter feed here.

Charles Tannock was also re-elected for the Conservatives in the constituency, having won the sixth available seat. He is currently Spokesperson on foreign affairs for the Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament, with his voting record available here and Tweets here.

UKIP’s MEP for London

Gerard Batten is UKIP’s sole London MEP. He won the fourth available seat, a result which may still disappoint UKIP who had hoped to fare better in London. He was first been elected at the 2004 European Parliament election. Batten was a founding member of UKIP and stood for the party leadership in 2004. His profile of Brussels activity is on VoteWatch here, and you read his Tweets here.

The Green Party’s MEP for London

Jean Lambert was elected from the top of the Greens’ list for the constituency, winning the last available seat. She has been an MEP since 1999 and her Votewatch profile is here. Previously she was a political campaigner and was closely involved with the Charter 88 movement. Her Twitter account is here

Who lost out in 2014?

The Conservatives saw their incumbent MEP and third placed candidate Marina Yannakoudakis defeated, with the party not polling well enough to pick up a third MEP. Likewise, the Liberal Democrat collapse saw Sarah Ludford, a long serving incumbent, lose her seat. Finally, UKIP were hopeful of seeing Paul Oakley elected from second place on their list, but their underwhelming performance in multicultural and metropolitan London saw to any hopes they had of adding to their compliment of one MEP.

About the London constituency

The London constituency for the European Parliament election corresponds with the area covered by the Greater London Authority: the 32 London boroughs and the City of London. It is bordered by the counties of Berkshire, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Kent and Surrey.

—

South East constituency (10 MEPs)

Full election results for this region can be found on Wikipedia here.

UKIP’s MEPs for the South East

The Leader of UKIP Nigel Farage tops his party’s list for the region. He is in his second spell as UKIP’s leader. He has been an MEP since 1999, having been re-elected in 2004 and 2009, and now 2014. His Votewatch EU profile provides details about his record as an MEP. A controversial and well-known character, his leadership of his party and his recent frequent TV appearances are key to UKIP’s prospects. He has unsuccessfully stood for a number of Parliamentary seats, most notably contesting the Speaker’s Buckingham constituency unavailingly at the 2010 General Election. His Twitter profile is here.

Janice Atkinson will join Farage as an MEP for the South East. She previously worked in marketing communications for FTSE 100 companies before setting up her own business. She was previously a member of the Conservative Party prior to joining UKIP, standing on one occasion as a Parliamentary candidate for them. Her Twitter account is here. She was comfortably elected time time around.

Diane James was UKIP’s third placed candidate, and was also successfully elected. She is best known for coming second in the Eastleigh by-election following the resignation of Chris Huhne. She is currently a councillor on Waverly Borough Council, and has worked as a Management Consultant. She is on Twitter, and her account can be found here.

Fourth for UKIP was Ray Finch, the party’s Group Leader on Hampshire County Council, who currently works as Assistant to Nigel Farage. He was previously a cable engineer, and stood for UKIP unsuccessfully in 2009. It is testement to the scale of UKIP’s triumph that all four of UKIP’s top candidates were elected.

The Conservatives’ MEPs for the South East

The top candidate for the Conservatives was the incumbent MEP Daniel Hannan. He was re-elected comfortably. Popular within his own party, he was first elected in 1999. Well known for his strong right wing and anti-EU views, expressed through his widely-read Telegraph blog, Hannan also achieved notoriety for opposing the continued existence of the NHS. He currently serves on the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and the delegation to the ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly. The independent organisation Votewatch EU collates details about all MEPs’ records in the European Parliament, and his personal profile can be found here. He is active on social media, and his Twitter account can be found here.

Nirj Deva also won handily. He has been an MEP since 1999 (having previously been an MP at Westminster). He was born in Sri Lanka and was the first Asian born person to be elected as a Conservative MEP. In the European Parliament, he serves as co-ordinator on the Committee on Overseas Development and Cooperation, and is a bureau member of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly. He is also a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament. More details about his roles and record in the European Parliament can be found on his Votewatch EU profile. His Twitter account is here.

Richard Ashworth was third on the Conservatives’ list, and has been an MEP since 2004. He too was re-elected. In the European Parliament he was the Leader of the Conservatives’ small group there in 2012-13, before being replaced by Syed Kamall. He was then the Conservative spokesman on budgets. Full information about his record as an MEP can be found on his Votewatch EU profile. Prior to his election, he worked as a dairy farmer and a businessman. His Twitter account is here.

Labour’s MEP for the South East

The only Labour candidate to be elected is Anneliese Dodds, currently a Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at Aston University. She has previously worked in academia and research in a number of capacities. She unsuccessfully stood for Labour in the Reading East constituency in 2010. She is almost certain to be elected to the European Parliament. She is on Twitter, and her profile can be found here.

The Green Party’s MEP for the South East

Keith Taylor, an incumbent MEP managed to hold onto the Green’s only seat in the region. He was appointed to the European Parliament when Caroline Lucas became a Westminster MP in 2010, and so he automatically filled her position as the Green’s number two candidate in 2009. He was previously the Leader of the Green Party group on Brighton and Hove Council, and a party staffer for a number of years. In Brussels he is a member of the Development, Transport and Tourism, and Petitions committees in the European Parliament and his record as an MEP can be found on his Votewatch EU profile. His Twitter profile is here.

The Liberal Democrats’ MEP for the South East

ldeuro122 The only remaining Liberal Democrat MEP following these elections is Catherine Bearder, who was first elected in 2009. In the European Parliament she is a member of the Regional Development and International Trade committees. Full information about her record as an MEP can be found on her Votewatch EU profile. She was formerly a Liberal Democrat member of Cherwell and on Oxfordshire County Council, has twice been a European candidate and parliamentary candidate for Banbury in 1997 and Henley in 2001. Her Twitter profile is here.

Who lost out in 2014?

The incumbent MEP and defector from UKIP Marta Andreasen narrowly missed out on a seat. She was elected for UKIP at the previous election but was defeated this time around. The Liberal Democrats were defending two seats but only kept one of them, and Labour will be disappointed not to add a second MEP to their South East compliment.

About the South of England region

The South East region wraps around London, to the south, west and north west – excluding London itself, which is a separate European Parliament constituency. The western border of the South East stretches from the most northern part of Oxfordshire all the way down to the Isle of Wight, and the rest of region then extends across to the easternmost point of Kent.

You are in the South East region if you live in the cities of Milton Keynes, Oxford, Reading, Slough, Southampton, Portsmouth, Brighton and Hove, Medway, Canterbury or Dover; or in any of the surrounding counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex, or in the Unitary Authorities of West Berkshire, Wokingham, Bracknell Forest, and Windsor and Maidenhead.

—

South West constituency (6 MEPs)

Full election results for this region can be found on Wikipedia here.

UKIP’s MEPs for the South West

William Dartmouth, aka William Legge, tenth Earl of Dartmouth, won the first available seat for the region comfortably as expected. He has been a MEP for UKIP since 2009. Previously a member of the Conservative Party, he sat in the House of Lords until 1999, when reforms to the chamber removed most of the remaining hereditary peers. His Votewatch EU profile gives details of his record in the European Parliament here.

Julia Reid also won a seat for UKIP. She is a biochemist, and a Councillor on Calne Town Council, with a Twitter account here.

The Conservatives’ MEPs for the South West

The incumbent MEP Ashley Fox was again elected for the Conservatives, winning the second available seat for the region. He was first elected to Brussels in 2009. Before that he was a local Councillor in Bristol and a solicitor. The respected European think tank Votewatch EU gives a comprehensive record of his voting and activity record in Brussels, and a profile of his interests and views here. And his Twitter account is here.

Julie Girling is another incumbent MEP who was re-elected, winning seat 4 of the 6 available in the region. She was first elected at the last European Parliament election in 2009. Her Votewatch EU profile is here and she too is on Twitter.

Labour’s MEP for the South West

Clare Mood y was Labour’s number one candidate for the region, and saw herself elected as the only Labour MEP for the region. This represented an improvement for Labour who had previously gone without representation in the region following their disastrous showing in 2009. She currently works as an official for the trade union Unite, and previously stood as a Police and Crime Commissioner for Labour. Her Twitter account can be found here

The Green Party’s MEP for the South West

Molly Scott Cato was elected for the Green Party, winning the final seat on offer, and unseating the long-standing MEP Graham Watson in doing so. She is currently an economist and academic at the University of Roehampton. Her Twitter profile is here and her campaign Twitter profile is here.

Who lost out in 2014?

This election saw the incument Liberal Democrat MEP Sir Graham Watson lose his seat in what was considered the party’s strongest region in the UK. His defeat means the European Parliament will be without him as a member for the first time in 20 years. The well-known rower James Cracknall also missed out – he was standing for the Conservatives (in third place). Also missing out was Gawain Towler, UKIP’s head of press, and a well known figure in political circles.

About the region

The South West constituency covers everything west of a line from Bournemouth up to Swindon and into Gloucestershire. You live in this region if you are in the urban areas of Bournemouth, Poole, Bristol, Bath and north-east Somerset, Swindon, Torbay or Plymouth; or in the counties of Dorset, Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset, Devon, or Cornwall; or in the unitary authorities in south Gloucestershire or north Somerset. Also included in this region are voters in Gibraltar, the British territory on the southern tip of Spain.

—

Note: please read our comments policy before posting. The shortened URL for this post is: https://buff.ly/TQLagQ. Cover image credit: JR P, CC BY NC 2.0