The nominations for the European Parliament Election to be held in the UK on Thursday 22nd May 2014 are now closed and the candidates from the Scotland Region are as follows (listed in alphabetic order by Party):
(#) - indicates a candidate with an address in Scotland
(*) - indicates a candidate with an address outside Scotland
Britain First (Defending the Union 2014)
Dowson, James (*)
Randall, John Arthur (*)
Fransen, Jayda Kaleigh (*)
Clynch, Geoffrey (*)
Clynch, Margaret Dorothy (*)
Shepherd, Jane Susan (*)
British National Party (Because we can make Scotland better)
McDonald, Kenneth (#)
Orr, David James (#)
McKenzie Victoria (*)
Matthys, Angus Jim (*)
Stafford, Paul Brandy (*)
Fleming, Stacey Jayne (*)
Conservative Party (Scottish Conservatives Vote No to Independence)
Duncan, Ian (#)
Don, Belinda (#)
Mobarik, Nosheena (#)
Gardiner, Jamie (#)
McGill, Iain (#)
McIntyre, Stuart ((#)
Labour Party
Martin, David (#)
Stihler, Catherine (#)
Munn, Derek (#)
Murray, Katrina (#)
Khan, Asim (#)
O'Brien, Kirsty (*)
Liberal Democrats (Scottish Liberal Democrats)
Lyon, George (#)
Jardine, Christine (#)
Brodie, Richard John (#)
Holden, Jade Elizabeth (#)
Mathers, Siobhan Helenor (#)
Davidson, Euan Robert (#)
NO2EU (Yes to Workers’ Rights)
Foster, John Odell (#)
Elliott, Andrew (#)
Maclean, Murdo (#)
Morrow, Gail (#)
Smith, Brian (#)
Veitch, Richard Edward (#)
Scottish Green Party
Chapman, Maggie (#)
Booth, Chas (#)
Murray, Grace Alice (*)
Whitelaw, Alastair (#)
Thomas, Anne Katherine (#)
Parish, Steen William (#)
Scottish National Party (SNP) (Make Scotland’s Mark in Europe)
Hudghton, Ian (#)
Smith, Alyn (#)
Ahmed-Sheikh, Tasmina (#)
Gethins, Stephen (#)
Giugliano, Toni (#)
Stephens, Chris (#)
UK Independence Party (UKIP)
Coburn, David Adam (*)
Newton, Kevin Andrew (#)
Inglis, Otto (#)
Baykal, Denise Mary (#)
Hatrick, Hugh (#)
MacKay, Malcolm George-Eric (#)
Some observations:
- the candidates are in list order and MEPs from all Parties will be elected, if any are elected from that Party, in the order in which they appear in that Party's list;
- my perhaps cynical view is that candidates whose listed address is not in Scotland are purely 'paper candidates', certainly when they are placed lower in a Party's list; where such candidates are at the top of a Party's list it is an indication (in my opinion) of their expectation of not gaining a seat. Incidentally in the case of Westminster and Scottish Parliament elections I also hold the firm view that candidates need to have addresses in (or close to) the parliamentary or regional constituencies they hope to represent and regard candidates who don't as 'paper' candidates only, as I look askance at candidates who have quite obviously been 'parachuted in' simply so that a Party has a name or names standing for election.
- at the European Parliament Election in 2009, the 6 MEPs from Scotland, in the order of total votes received by the Parties concerned, represented Scottish National Party (2), Labour (2), Conservative (1), Liberal Democrats (1); none of the other Parties which stood in 2009 received sufficient votes to have an MEP elected (in strict order of the total votes received - Green Party, UK Independence Party, British National Party, Socialist Labour Party, Christian Party "Proclaiming Christ's Lordship", Scottish Socialist Party, Independent - Duncan Robertson, No2EU - Yes to Democracy, Jury Team). In 2009 there were no changes in Party representation from the previous European Parliament election in 2004;
- the existing MEPs from the 2009 election from the Scottish National Party (2), Labour (2) and Liberal Democrats (1) are standing in the top positions in their respective lists in 2014. The existing Conservative (1) MEP is standing down and is likely to be replaced by the current top-listed candidate for that Party (in my opinion), unless one of the other Parties supplants it;
- in 2009 there were 12 Party/Independent candidates, in 2014 there are 9, which is an improvement given that there are only 6 MEP positions available from Scotland, so there are at least fewer completely ridiculous and spurious candidates, even if there are still 1 or 2 who have little hope of electoral success in this election, in my opinion, but it is those Parties'/Candidates' 'time'/'money' to waste and their 'democratic right' to stand, so good luck to them all.
You can visit the Highland Council main EP election page here, which links to The City of Edinburgh Council website here, as it is they who are coordinating the candidates list for the Scottish Region constituency, and from there one may download the full candidates list (in .pdf format) that I have summarised above. I have also uploaded the same .pdf list to my own website and you may download it here too.
My earlier post about the upcoming European Parliament election is here.
Showing posts with label European Parliament. Show all posts
Showing posts with label European Parliament. Show all posts
Thursday, 24 April 2014
Thursday, 17 April 2014
European Parliament Election 22 May 2014 - Nominations open
(Please see the UPDATE at the end)
The next election for the European Parliament (EP) will take place between Thursday 22nd May and Sunday 25th May; in the UK the polling day is Thursday 22nd May.
The UK elects 73 members of the EP (MEPs), with the country divided into 12 electoral regions (9 for England and 1 each for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales). The 'Scotland Region' elects 6 MEPs. There is a useful Wikipedia page which explains all this in greater detail here.
Candidate nominations opened at 10am on Tuesday 15th April and remain open until 4pm on Thursday 24th April 2014. The Highland Council website has a page providing basic information and links (one of which currently does not work) as follows:
- Highland Council main EP election page is here;
- the 'Notice of Election' with details of how to lodge nominations for the 'Scotland Region' are here (.pdf file).
Full results of the last EP election in 2009 are in the BBC website here.
In my own little blog, I published a few articles on the last EP elections, to which you can find links below if you are interested:
- Is freedom of speech only for those people one happens to agree with? (10JUN2009);
- European elections - my thoughts on the final results (10JUN2009);
- European Parliament elections - rolling results (7JUN2009);
- European Parliament elections - 7 Jun - day 4 (7JUN2009);
- European Parliament elections - 6 Jun - day 3 (6JUN2009);
- European Parliament elections - 5 Jun - day 2 (5JUN2009);
- The moment the polls closed - the knives are out for Brown! (4JUN2009);
- European Parliament elections - 4 June - day 1 (4JUN2009);
- The European Elections voting marathon explained (3JUN2009);
- European Parliament elections - June 2009 (25MAY2009) - election literature received by me.
UPDATE (Thursday 24APR2014 22.43 BST) Nominations are now closed and I have posted a further article here, with full details of all candidates for the Scotland Region.
The next election for the European Parliament (EP) will take place between Thursday 22nd May and Sunday 25th May; in the UK the polling day is Thursday 22nd May.
The UK elects 73 members of the EP (MEPs), with the country divided into 12 electoral regions (9 for England and 1 each for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales). The 'Scotland Region' elects 6 MEPs. There is a useful Wikipedia page which explains all this in greater detail here.
Candidate nominations opened at 10am on Tuesday 15th April and remain open until 4pm on Thursday 24th April 2014. The Highland Council website has a page providing basic information and links (one of which currently does not work) as follows:
- Highland Council main EP election page is here;
- the 'Notice of Election' with details of how to lodge nominations for the 'Scotland Region' are here (.pdf file).
Full results of the last EP election in 2009 are in the BBC website here.
In my own little blog, I published a few articles on the last EP elections, to which you can find links below if you are interested:
- Is freedom of speech only for those people one happens to agree with? (10JUN2009);
- European elections - my thoughts on the final results (10JUN2009);
- European Parliament elections - rolling results (7JUN2009);
- European Parliament elections - 7 Jun - day 4 (7JUN2009);
- European Parliament elections - 6 Jun - day 3 (6JUN2009);
- European Parliament elections - 5 Jun - day 2 (5JUN2009);
- The moment the polls closed - the knives are out for Brown! (4JUN2009);
- European Parliament elections - 4 June - day 1 (4JUN2009);
- The European Elections voting marathon explained (3JUN2009);
- European Parliament elections - June 2009 (25MAY2009) - election literature received by me.
UPDATE (Thursday 24APR2014 22.43 BST) Nominations are now closed and I have posted a further article here, with full details of all candidates for the Scotland Region.
Friday, 18 November 2011
Nigel Farage tells the truth to the European Parliament
I am not remotely a supporter of UKIP, nor of Nigel Farage, but it is undeniable that he often speaks great sense - colourfully, yes, but always jovially and rationally. Here he is, telling the unvarnished truth to the European Parliament on Wednesday 16th November 2011, in the presence of both Herman van Rompuy (President of the European Council) and José Manuel Barroso (President of the European Commission), about the constitutional outrages that have been perpetrated upon two EU member states in recent weeks, namely Greece and Italy.
Whatever one may have thought of Papandreou and Berlusconi, both were democratically elected by their respective countries, a lot more than can be said of the current puppet governments in both countries, nor indeed of von Rompuy and Barroso. It is a truly extraordinary phenomenon! Europe has slid, without any fanfare whatsoever, into a fascistic nightmare not, I am completely certain, any part of it a desire by modern-day Germany to 'dominate', but perhaps because of a completely understandable desire in Germany not to debauch their currency because of the painful relatively-recent history of that country. Even now, I can hardly believe what has happened and is still continuing to happen. From the time the UK joined what was then the European Economic Community (EEC), I have been a fervent supporter of it and I was even, emotionally at least, in favour of the setting-up of the Euro as a currency. However, I was always worried that this could never work properly without complete fiscal union of the countries involved, and for more or less the reasons that most now see the Euro as being a complete disaster. It bears repeating that the two countries which first broke the rule that national budget deficits should not exceed 3 per cent, as far back as 2003, were Germany and France and nothing happened, because both were/are too powerful. However, when a third country, Portugal, did the same it was 'read the riot act'. It was really from then that I began to have a much stronger view that the UK had been completely correct not to join the Euro, not of course that our own Labour government was behaving any more responsibly, but at least Labour kept us out of that disaster.
To be honest, whilst I am still not a Eurosceptic, I hesitate any longer to say I am a Europhile - if people like me are beginning to think this way, then I really do wonder how long we can be denied a referendum on our continuing membership of the European Union.
Whatever one may have thought of Papandreou and Berlusconi, both were democratically elected by their respective countries, a lot more than can be said of the current puppet governments in both countries, nor indeed of von Rompuy and Barroso. It is a truly extraordinary phenomenon! Europe has slid, without any fanfare whatsoever, into a fascistic nightmare not, I am completely certain, any part of it a desire by modern-day Germany to 'dominate', but perhaps because of a completely understandable desire in Germany not to debauch their currency because of the painful relatively-recent history of that country. Even now, I can hardly believe what has happened and is still continuing to happen. From the time the UK joined what was then the European Economic Community (EEC), I have been a fervent supporter of it and I was even, emotionally at least, in favour of the setting-up of the Euro as a currency. However, I was always worried that this could never work properly without complete fiscal union of the countries involved, and for more or less the reasons that most now see the Euro as being a complete disaster. It bears repeating that the two countries which first broke the rule that national budget deficits should not exceed 3 per cent, as far back as 2003, were Germany and France and nothing happened, because both were/are too powerful. However, when a third country, Portugal, did the same it was 'read the riot act'. It was really from then that I began to have a much stronger view that the UK had been completely correct not to join the Euro, not of course that our own Labour government was behaving any more responsibly, but at least Labour kept us out of that disaster.
To be honest, whilst I am still not a Eurosceptic, I hesitate any longer to say I am a Europhile - if people like me are beginning to think this way, then I really do wonder how long we can be denied a referendum on our continuing membership of the European Union.
Thursday, 1 July 2010
Belgium assumes EU Presidency today for the next six months
Belgium has taken over the role of presidency of the EU today for the coming six months, replacing Spain in the role. Despite the fact that Belgium does not currently have a government, the country's caretaker Prime Minister Yves Leterme 'has dismissed any concern about Belgium's commitment to the EU presidency program, which he said enjoyed wide cross-party support' and is quoted as saying that his 'country's role as EU chair would be "more limited than in the past" anyway'. Make of this what you will.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso is quoted as saying: "I am absolutely convinced that Belgium, which has always been at the centre of the European Union, will remain there." and "Even after the Presidency period, I am fully confident that Belgium has strong European belief."
A clue to Belgium's likely role is given in this quotation from Peter Becker, a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), speaking to Deutsche Welle (whose article is linked to above): "It will be a very pro-European presidency."
The website of the Belgian EU Presidency is here (English language version - the website exists also in French, Dutch/Flemish and German). The Belgian presidency will be succeeded by that of Hungary (see also here), for the followinng six months after which Poland will hold the role for the second half of 2011.
However the Lisbon Treaty has changed many things - there is now the role of President of the European Council (currently held by Mr Herman Van Rompuy), held for a maximum of 5 years (in 2 two and a half year segments) - there is an 'explanatory' document here (in .pdf format), which you can find, if you know where to look, in the EU website here.
My views about the EU have been changing in recent times; I was formerly a committed 'Europhile' and still am to a large degree, but I have become considerably more sceptical about the long-term direction that is being charted. Whilst the Lisbon Treaty has changed many things, it has not changed the desire of individual nations to feel like they 'rule the roost', hence the continuance of the 6-month rotating 'Presidency', although with a reduced mandate. It strikes me that the whole institution of the EU is becoming increasingly unwieldy and difficult to understand for most ordinary citizens. One might be forgiven for believing that this last is precisely the aim of the EU bureaucrats who control it in practice; to baffle the 'peasants' with complexity.
Anyway, for good or ill, Belgium has the role of Presidency of the EU for the next six months.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso is quoted as saying: "I am absolutely convinced that Belgium, which has always been at the centre of the European Union, will remain there." and "Even after the Presidency period, I am fully confident that Belgium has strong European belief."
A clue to Belgium's likely role is given in this quotation from Peter Becker, a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), speaking to Deutsche Welle (whose article is linked to above): "It will be a very pro-European presidency."
The website of the Belgian EU Presidency is here (English language version - the website exists also in French, Dutch/Flemish and German). The Belgian presidency will be succeeded by that of Hungary (see also here), for the followinng six months after which Poland will hold the role for the second half of 2011.
However the Lisbon Treaty has changed many things - there is now the role of President of the European Council (currently held by Mr Herman Van Rompuy), held for a maximum of 5 years (in 2 two and a half year segments) - there is an 'explanatory' document here (in .pdf format), which you can find, if you know where to look, in the EU website here.
My views about the EU have been changing in recent times; I was formerly a committed 'Europhile' and still am to a large degree, but I have become considerably more sceptical about the long-term direction that is being charted. Whilst the Lisbon Treaty has changed many things, it has not changed the desire of individual nations to feel like they 'rule the roost', hence the continuance of the 6-month rotating 'Presidency', although with a reduced mandate. It strikes me that the whole institution of the EU is becoming increasingly unwieldy and difficult to understand for most ordinary citizens. One might be forgiven for believing that this last is precisely the aim of the EU bureaucrats who control it in practice; to baffle the 'peasants' with complexity.
Anyway, for good or ill, Belgium has the role of Presidency of the EU for the next six months.
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
European elections - my thoughts on the final results
Everybody and his/her dog has been writing about this in the past couple of days, but I'm afraid that 'real life' rudely disrupted the time I could devote before now to doing my own round-up on the final result since I did my live-blogging on Sunday night.
A number of well-known websites have links to utilities which will allow you to analyse the final results in various different ways, but why go to the media when you can visit the European Union's own website and get all the relevant information there, presented in a very flexible utility.
So far as the UK is concerned, the results are here. However, to get a more detailed analysis, specially of changes since the last election in 2004 the best place is the BBC website here. There are several things to say about the overall UK result:
- the governing Labour Party was pushed into third place, behind the Conservative Party and the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), a major 'drubbing' and humiliation, richly deserved by the tawdry excuse we have for a Government;
- the fascist British National Party (BNP) gained two seats, the first time these odious racists have gained seats at a national election. Labour and other left-of-centre people professing what they call 'progressive' political ideas categorise the BNP as 'right wing', but a cursory study of its manifesto reveals it to be 'collectivist' in nature, much more characteristic of the kind of 'socialist' politics of a 'left wing' political party, such as Labour - which is where most of the votes for the BNP have undoubtedly come from. The 'authoritarian' and 'racist' ethos of the BNP is certainly not in doubt.
For me the four UK regions of most interest, for quite different reasons, are these:
- Scotland, because that's where I live. The main development here is the fact that Labour has been pushed into second place by the Scottish National Party (SNP); no longer can Scotland be described as a Labour 'fiefdom'. Of course I am not personally enamoured of the SNP, but that's a whole different discussion.
- Wales, where the result is even more dramatic than in Scotland in some respects. It is the first time since 1918 that Labour have lost the popular vote here and the fact they have been pushed into second place by the Conservatives of all people is specially dramatic. They lost one of their two MEPs, to the so-called 'fluke' UKIP. Some 'fluke'!
- The Yorkshire and The Humber and the North West regions in each of which a BNP candidate was elected with 9.8 and 8.0 per cent respectively of the vote. In both these regions the Labour Party was forced into second place by the Conservatives with UKIP in third position.
Other amazing results in this election were noted in Cornwall where Labour was relegated to 6th place behind both the Greens and Mebyon Kernow (Cornish nationalists). The only English region where Labour topped the popular vote was in the North East region.
In summary it was a grim election result for Labour, as they managed to get only 15.7 per cent of the national vote and their tally of MEPs was reduced by 5 down to 13, although that to me was a very positive development. Much less positive of course was the 6.2 per cent achieved nationally by the BNP, giving it 2 MEPs and all the funding that goes with this. Frankly Labour has a lot to answer for with its chronic mismanagement of the economy during its 12 years in power and for its persistent refusal to engage and combat the political arguments of its left-wing cousins, the BNP; Labour's panicky 'vote for anyone but the BNP' mantra in recent months I'm afraid was far too little too late.
A number of well-known websites have links to utilities which will allow you to analyse the final results in various different ways, but why go to the media when you can visit the European Union's own website and get all the relevant information there, presented in a very flexible utility.
So far as the UK is concerned, the results are here. However, to get a more detailed analysis, specially of changes since the last election in 2004 the best place is the BBC website here. There are several things to say about the overall UK result:
- the governing Labour Party was pushed into third place, behind the Conservative Party and the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), a major 'drubbing' and humiliation, richly deserved by the tawdry excuse we have for a Government;
- the fascist British National Party (BNP) gained two seats, the first time these odious racists have gained seats at a national election. Labour and other left-of-centre people professing what they call 'progressive' political ideas categorise the BNP as 'right wing', but a cursory study of its manifesto reveals it to be 'collectivist' in nature, much more characteristic of the kind of 'socialist' politics of a 'left wing' political party, such as Labour - which is where most of the votes for the BNP have undoubtedly come from. The 'authoritarian' and 'racist' ethos of the BNP is certainly not in doubt.
For me the four UK regions of most interest, for quite different reasons, are these:
- Scotland, because that's where I live. The main development here is the fact that Labour has been pushed into second place by the Scottish National Party (SNP); no longer can Scotland be described as a Labour 'fiefdom'. Of course I am not personally enamoured of the SNP, but that's a whole different discussion.
- Wales, where the result is even more dramatic than in Scotland in some respects. It is the first time since 1918 that Labour have lost the popular vote here and the fact they have been pushed into second place by the Conservatives of all people is specially dramatic. They lost one of their two MEPs, to the so-called 'fluke' UKIP. Some 'fluke'!
- The Yorkshire and The Humber and the North West regions in each of which a BNP candidate was elected with 9.8 and 8.0 per cent respectively of the vote. In both these regions the Labour Party was forced into second place by the Conservatives with UKIP in third position.
Other amazing results in this election were noted in Cornwall where Labour was relegated to 6th place behind both the Greens and Mebyon Kernow (Cornish nationalists). The only English region where Labour topped the popular vote was in the North East region.
In summary it was a grim election result for Labour, as they managed to get only 15.7 per cent of the national vote and their tally of MEPs was reduced by 5 down to 13, although that to me was a very positive development. Much less positive of course was the 6.2 per cent achieved nationally by the BNP, giving it 2 MEPs and all the funding that goes with this. Frankly Labour has a lot to answer for with its chronic mismanagement of the economy during its 12 years in power and for its persistent refusal to engage and combat the political arguments of its left-wing cousins, the BNP; Labour's panicky 'vote for anyone but the BNP' mantra in recent months I'm afraid was far too little too late.
Sunday, 7 June 2009
European Parliament elections - rolling results
I'll be live-blogging and 'tweeting' the results as they come in for the next three or so hours before I go off to bed. Ony 7 or 8 minutes to go until we start to see the results trickle through:
00.15 (Monday) - I'm off to bed. Hope the BNP won't get any more MEPs. Nightie-night!
23.44 - Wales UK. Regional allocation: Conservative - 1, Labour - 2, Plaid Cymru - 3, UKIP - 4. Labour pushed out of top position in Wales to Conservatives!
23.37 - Listening to new BNP Yorkshire and Humber MEP speaking. He sounds frighteningly plausible - has this idiot not read the BNP constitution? Ugh!! Nick Robinson had some comments about the man's background and his past activities - sounds a real charmer! Not!
23.26 - Yorkshire and Humber UK. Regional allocation - Conservative - 1, Labour - 2, UKIP - 3, LibDem - 4, Conservative - 5, BNP - 6. SO BNP have an MEP!! Boo!!! Overall result - Conservative 2, Labour 1, UKIP 1, LibDem 1, BNP 1. What a sad moment for UK democracy!
23.06 - East of England UK. Regional allocation - Conservatives 1, UKIP - 2, Conservative 3, LibDem - 4, Labour - 5, Conservative - 6, UKIP - 7. And no BNP! Hurray!! So Conservatives 3, UKIP 2, LibDem 1, Labour 1 - no change. I repeat, no BNP!!!
22.32 - France - EPP significant rise to 28 (+11), Socialist significant fall to 15 (-13). Good result on both counts! Rise for Greens.
22.17 - Sky News reporting that overall EU turnout for the European Parliament elections estimated at 43%; a record low!
21.42 - results from North-east UK. Regional allocation - Labour 1, Conservative 2, Liberal Democrats 3. So one each from these 3 parties - no change.
21.25 - Poland - EPP up 12 to 28, EUN up 3 to 12(?) - This is the right-wing homophobe crowd that UK Tories want to team up with - Hague speaking. He says they would deny their characterisation (the Polish Justice and Law Party, that is)
21.18 - Austria - EPP stay at 6
21.17 - Germany - EPP down 7 to 42
21.01 - Denmark announced its results - too small to matter (sorry Denmark)
00.15 (Monday) - I'm off to bed. Hope the BNP won't get any more MEPs. Nightie-night!
23.44 - Wales UK. Regional allocation: Conservative - 1, Labour - 2, Plaid Cymru - 3, UKIP - 4. Labour pushed out of top position in Wales to Conservatives!
23.37 - Listening to new BNP Yorkshire and Humber MEP speaking. He sounds frighteningly plausible - has this idiot not read the BNP constitution? Ugh!! Nick Robinson had some comments about the man's background and his past activities - sounds a real charmer! Not!
23.26 - Yorkshire and Humber UK. Regional allocation - Conservative - 1, Labour - 2, UKIP - 3, LibDem - 4, Conservative - 5, BNP - 6. SO BNP have an MEP!! Boo!!! Overall result - Conservative 2, Labour 1, UKIP 1, LibDem 1, BNP 1. What a sad moment for UK democracy!
23.06 - East of England UK. Regional allocation - Conservatives 1, UKIP - 2, Conservative 3, LibDem - 4, Labour - 5, Conservative - 6, UKIP - 7. And no BNP! Hurray!! So Conservatives 3, UKIP 2, LibDem 1, Labour 1 - no change. I repeat, no BNP!!!
22.32 - France - EPP significant rise to 28 (+11), Socialist significant fall to 15 (-13). Good result on both counts! Rise for Greens.
22.17 - Sky News reporting that overall EU turnout for the European Parliament elections estimated at 43%; a record low!
21.42 - results from North-east UK. Regional allocation - Labour 1, Conservative 2, Liberal Democrats 3. So one each from these 3 parties - no change.
21.25 - Poland - EPP up 12 to 28, EUN up 3 to 12(?) - This is the right-wing homophobe crowd that UK Tories want to team up with - Hague speaking. He says they would deny their characterisation (the Polish Justice and Law Party, that is)
21.18 - Austria - EPP stay at 6
21.17 - Germany - EPP down 7 to 42
21.01 - Denmark announced its results - too small to matter (sorry Denmark)
Saturday, 6 June 2009
European Parliament elections - 6 Jun - day 3
Voting in the elections for the European Parliament is taking place today in 6 countries:
Cyprus
Czech Republic (*)
Italy (+)
Latvia
Malta
Slovakia
(*) Second day of voting in the Czech Republic.
(+) Voting continues tomorrow in Italy
Cyprus - The Cyprus News Agency has information about voter profiles and other relevant information here. Some facts about the Cyprus are in the European Parliament website here. Will the two parts of Cyprus ever be reunited? Despite the apparent willingness of the parties to talk, their genuine commitment to this eventuality is not clear - see here and here. The incentive for Cyprus (i.e. the southern 'Greek' part which is currently an EU member) to progress these talks is not all that great in my view - they already have what they want as I wrote at the time the country became an EU member, here and here. Should the divided Cyprus ever have been permitted to join the EU under the cobbled-together 'solution' of five years ago? I have no definite answer although I tend to believe the answer should have been 'no', but we are where we are.
Czech Republic - Read about voting in the Czech Republic here. Some facts about the Czech Republic are in the European Parliament website here. The Euronews website has updates about the voting in the Czech Republic here.
Italy - Like the Czech Republic, Italy holds its European Parliament elections over two days, although not the same two days. The country's parlous economic and unemployment situation, not to mention domestic political controversy involving the personal life of its Prime Minister are, together with worries about immigration, the hot topics of interest to Italian voters. Some facts about Italy are in the European Parliament website here.
Latvia - Latvia faces tough economic problems just now and its currency is decidedly weak; it's believed that the reprecussions could adversely affect other eastern European countries, too. The rise of the 'Russophone' parties, following the anti-Russian policies enacted soon after independence, is likely to change the political complexion of the country in the longer term, too. See also here. Some facts about Latvia are in the European Parliament website here.
Malta - The Times of Malta has some information about numbers of eligible voters in this tiny country. Some facts about Malta are in the European Parliament website here.
Slovakia - A survey in May indicated that Slovaks may once again be those least-interested in taking part in the European Parliament elections as only 12 per cent of voters indicated they were sure to vote. As in several other eastern European countries, hate-crimes against their gypsy population are a particular problem in Slovakia, 'whipped-up' by 'right-wing'(~) political parties. Some facts about Slovakia are in the European Parliament website here.
(~) Such parties are often characterised as 'right wing', but close examination of their policies usually reveals them to be, in actual fact, extreme 'left wing' political parties, however much the more moderate left wing parties object to such an analysis; the same considerations apply to some extremist political parties in western Europe (e.g. the BNP in the UK, or most notoriously the German National Socialist Workers Party (NSDAP) of the 1930s and the 1940s).
Czech Republic (*)
Italy (+)
Latvia
Malta
Slovakia
(*) Second day of voting in the Czech Republic.
(+) Voting continues tomorrow in Italy
Cyprus - The Cyprus News Agency has information about voter profiles and other relevant information here. Some facts about the Cyprus are in the European Parliament website here. Will the two parts of Cyprus ever be reunited? Despite the apparent willingness of the parties to talk, their genuine commitment to this eventuality is not clear - see here and here. The incentive for Cyprus (i.e. the southern 'Greek' part which is currently an EU member) to progress these talks is not all that great in my view - they already have what they want as I wrote at the time the country became an EU member, here and here. Should the divided Cyprus ever have been permitted to join the EU under the cobbled-together 'solution' of five years ago? I have no definite answer although I tend to believe the answer should have been 'no', but we are where we are.
Czech Republic - Read about voting in the Czech Republic here. Some facts about the Czech Republic are in the European Parliament website here. The Euronews website has updates about the voting in the Czech Republic here.
Italy - Like the Czech Republic, Italy holds its European Parliament elections over two days, although not the same two days. The country's parlous economic and unemployment situation, not to mention domestic political controversy involving the personal life of its Prime Minister are, together with worries about immigration, the hot topics of interest to Italian voters. Some facts about Italy are in the European Parliament website here.
Latvia - Latvia faces tough economic problems just now and its currency is decidedly weak; it's believed that the reprecussions could adversely affect other eastern European countries, too. The rise of the 'Russophone' parties, following the anti-Russian policies enacted soon after independence, is likely to change the political complexion of the country in the longer term, too. See also here. Some facts about Latvia are in the European Parliament website here.
Malta - The Times of Malta has some information about numbers of eligible voters in this tiny country. Some facts about Malta are in the European Parliament website here.
Slovakia - A survey in May indicated that Slovaks may once again be those least-interested in taking part in the European Parliament elections as only 12 per cent of voters indicated they were sure to vote. As in several other eastern European countries, hate-crimes against their gypsy population are a particular problem in Slovakia, 'whipped-up' by 'right-wing'(~) political parties. Some facts about Slovakia are in the European Parliament website here.
(~) Such parties are often characterised as 'right wing', but close examination of their policies usually reveals them to be, in actual fact, extreme 'left wing' political parties, however much the more moderate left wing parties object to such an analysis; the same considerations apply to some extremist political parties in western Europe (e.g. the BNP in the UK, or most notoriously the German National Socialist Workers Party (NSDAP) of the 1930s and the 1940s).
Friday, 5 June 2009
European Parliament elections - 5 Jun - day 2
Voting in the elections for the European Parliament is taking place today in:
Czech Republic (*)
Ireland
(*) Voting continues tomorrow in the Czech Republic.
Read about voting in the Czech Republic here. Some facts about the Czech Republic are in the European Parliament website here. The Euronews website has updates about the voting in the Czech Republic here.
The Irish Times carries a report about the high eestimates of voter turnout in Ireland today. The ElectionsIreland.org website will carry full results of today's elections as they are announced (not before Sunday, of course, once all EU countries have voted), together with full details of the results in previous European Parliament elections; main page is here. The European Parliament's website for Ireland is here and some facts about the country are
here.
Ireland
(*) Voting continues tomorrow in the Czech Republic.
Read about voting in the Czech Republic here. Some facts about the Czech Republic are in the European Parliament website here. The Euronews website has updates about the voting in the Czech Republic here.
The Irish Times carries a report about the high eestimates of voter turnout in Ireland today. The ElectionsIreland.org website will carry full results of today's elections as they are announced (not before Sunday, of course, once all EU countries have voted), together with full details of the results in previous European Parliament elections; main page is here. The European Parliament's website for Ireland is here and some facts about the country are
here.
Thursday, 4 June 2009
The moment the polls closed - the knives are out for Brown!
Within a minute of the European Election polls closing, we had Nick Robinson on the BBC1 10pm news telling us James Purnell (Work & Pensions Secretary) is resigning from the Governing to force a leadership election within the Labour Party. His letter of resignation says he wants Brown to stand down.
Another 'senior' back-bench MP (name not noted, sorry) said he believed a secret leadership ballot would result in Brown being forced out.
It is probably 'curtains' for Brown very soon. And not before time!
Another 'senior' back-bench MP (name not noted, sorry) said he believed a secret leadership ballot would result in Brown being forced out.
It is probably 'curtains' for Brown very soon. And not before time!
European Parliament elections - 4 June - day 1
The elections for the European Parliament start today, with voting taking place today in:
Netherlands
United Kingdom
If you have a vote, please (please!) use it! Don't waste it by not voting, whichever political party or grouping you choose to support. The more people who vote, the more accurate will be the result. That's all I ask - that as many of us as possible exercise our right to vote. Thank you!
I'll be off out in the next hour or so to vote myself - obviously I'd like as many as possible in the UK to vote Conservative. I know that many readers of my blog vote for other political parties. Fair enough, but the important thing is that as many of those entitled to vote do so. In my area (Scotland) there is certainly plenty of choice and the same applies in every region of the UK.
In the UK, 'Polling Places' remain open until 10pm tonight (22.00 BST). Please exercise your right to vote!
United Kingdom
If you have a vote, please (please!) use it! Don't waste it by not voting, whichever political party or grouping you choose to support. The more people who vote, the more accurate will be the result. That's all I ask - that as many of us as possible exercise our right to vote. Thank you!
I'll be off out in the next hour or so to vote myself - obviously I'd like as many as possible in the UK to vote Conservative. I know that many readers of my blog vote for other political parties. Fair enough, but the important thing is that as many of those entitled to vote do so. In my area (Scotland) there is certainly plenty of choice and the same applies in every region of the UK.
In the UK, 'Polling Places' remain open until 10pm tonight (22.00 BST). Please exercise your right to vote!
Wednesday, 3 June 2009
The European Elections voting marathon explained
Tomorrow (Thursday 4th June) the European Elections start, but they will not be completed until Sunday 7th June. As an Expatica article helpfully explains it's a lot more complicated than that - and of course the whole thing will take several weeks to resolve as the results are digested in the 'carving up' of the top jobs on committees, etc:
The first reasonably reliable projections of the results are likely to be available around 9pm (BST) on Sunday 7th June 2009. We'll all need a long rest after this 4-day vote-fest!
- voting timetable Thursday 4th June 2009 - United Kingdom, Netherlands Friday 5th June 2009 - Ireland Friday 5th June and Saturday 6th June 2009 - Czech Republic Saturday 6th June 2009 - Cyprus, Latvia, Malta, Slovakia Saturday 6th June and Sunday 7th June 2009 - Italy Sunday 7th June 2009 - France, Germany, Spain and the other 15 countries in the EU |
The first reasonably reliable projections of the results are likely to be available around 9pm (BST) on Sunday 7th June 2009. We'll all need a long rest after this 4-day vote-fest!
Monday, 25 May 2009
European Parliament elections - June 2009
The elections for the European Parliament are almost upon us once more (Thursday 4th June in the UK, Sunday 7th June in many other EU countries). When I returned to Scotland from Spain last week the election literature for these elections from several of the political parties awaited me so I will as is my usual habit be recording for 'posterity' images of the leaflets I have received through my own letter-box. This year I have so far received literature from:
- Conservative Party (Scottish Conservative and Unionist);
- Labour Party (Scottish Labour Party);
- Liberal Democrats (Scottish Liberal Democrats);
- Scottish National Party;
- British National Party.
The last time there were national elections I did not actually receive a leaflet from the lovely folks (irony alert! - Ed.) at the British National Party so did not include an image of their leaflet (although I had seen it elsewhere locally), but this time I did, so I am. I am doing so through 'gritted teeth' of course, but on the basis that 'sunlight is the best disinfectant' I think it necessary to expose these awful bigots for what they are and what they say they believe in (see 'Section 2: Membership' on pages 4 and 5 in particular), however 'reasonable' they may try to persuade us they are; it is unquestionably a racist political party. (NB/ If that document is unavailable online in the BNP website for any reason, I have uploaded a back-up copy into my own website server and you can find it here.)
The BBC has details of political parties and candidates standing throughout the UK here (click on the region that interests you to see more detail). For Scotland the link is here, but I am reorganising the information presented there in the 'house-style' of this blog. As you will see there are many political parties putting up candidates for which I have not yet received their election literature:
- the order in which names appear within a political party's list has been decided internally by that political party. Because the election uses a form of 'proportional representation' voters have no choice between individuals, instead they must choose one political party to vote for and the more votes within a region which that political party receives, the more of its 'list' will be elected as MEPs. The number of MEPs is reducing this time, in 'anticipation' of the ratification and coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty (aka the 'European Constitutional Treaty', the very similar rejected/failed treaty which preceded it); however, there will be 18 'phantom MEPs' elected - and paid - to comply with the current rules of the EU, although these 18 'phantom' MEPs will apparently not be permitted to vote in the European Parliament; although I am generally in favour of the EU this latest 'manoeuvre' is a travesty of democracy, not to mention the fact that the EU budget has not been signed-off by the Court of Auditors of the EU in the past 13 or so years! However much in favour of the EU one may be, as I am, the folks in Brussels and Strasbourg are testing the patience of even people like me to the very limit with their anti-democratic manipulation of both EU treaty law and whatever level of accountability exists. I have not yet decided how to vote although I must confess I am considering for the first time ever voting for one of the slightly less mainstream parties as a protest, even though I do not share their view that withdrawal from full membership of the EU is desirable - I speak of course of UKIP. Failing this I will most probably vote Conservative, as I usually do. I will mention here which political party I finally decided to vote for once the results have been announced.
PS/ (dated Thursday 13AUG09 08.26 BST) I have just realised I have not yet fulfilled my commitment in the final sentence above. I used my vote for my 'default' choice, the Conservatives. Although I am no longer a member and continue to have recurring doubts that they have really 'changed' their fundamentally anti-gay agenda (when the cameras and microphones are safely out of the way), a vote for them is probably the least 'evil' in general policy terms; that's about the best that I am yet prepared to say about them. The circumstance surrounding the creation of their new EP grouping leave many questions unanswered.
- Conservative Party (Scottish Conservative and Unionist);
- Labour Party (Scottish Labour Party);
- Liberal Democrats (Scottish Liberal Democrats);
- Scottish National Party;
- British National Party.
Click on any image to see a larger version plus additional images Conservative Party (Scottish Conservative and Unionist)  Labour Party (Scottish Labour Party)  Liberal Democrats (Scottish Liberal Democrats)  Scottish National Party  British National Party  Click on any image to see a larger version plus additional images |
The last time there were national elections I did not actually receive a leaflet from the lovely folks (irony alert! - Ed.) at the British National Party so did not include an image of their leaflet (although I had seen it elsewhere locally), but this time I did, so I am. I am doing so through 'gritted teeth' of course, but on the basis that 'sunlight is the best disinfectant' I think it necessary to expose these awful bigots for what they are and what they say they believe in (see 'Section 2: Membership' on pages 4 and 5 in particular), however 'reasonable' they may try to persuade us they are; it is unquestionably a racist political party. (NB/ If that document is unavailable online in the BNP website for any reason, I have uploaded a back-up copy into my own website server and you can find it here.)
The BBC has details of political parties and candidates standing throughout the UK here (click on the region that interests you to see more detail). For Scotland the link is here, but I am reorganising the information presented there in the 'house-style' of this blog. As you will see there are many political parties putting up candidates for which I have not yet received their election literature:
Political parties standing in Scotland and their 'list' candidates in order of preference Conservative Party 1 - Struan Stevenson, 2 - Belinda Don, 3 - Helen Gardiner, 4 - Donald MacDonald, 5 - Gerald Michaluk, 6 - PJ Lewis Labour Party 1 - David Martin, 2 - Catherine Stihler, 3 - Mary Lockhart, 4 - Paul McAleavey, 5 - Kirsty Connell, 6 - Nasim Kham Liberal Democrats 1 - George Lyon, 2 - Euan Robson, 3 - Robert Aldridge, 4 - Patsy Kenton, 5 - Douglas Herbison, 6 - Clive Sneddon Green Party 1 - Elaine Morrison, 2 - Chas Booth, 3 - Kirsten Robb, 4 - Alastair Whitelaw, 5 - Ruth Dawkins, 6 - Peter McColl Scottish National Party 1 - Ian Hudghton, 2 - Alyn Smith, 3 - Aileen McLeod, 4 - Drew Hendry, 5 - Duncan Ross, 6 - Gordon Archer British National Party 1 - Gary Raikes, 2 - Charles Baillie, 3 - Deborah McKnight, 4 - Roy Jones, 5 - Maxwell Dunbar, 6 - Elise Jones Scottish Socialist Party 1 - Colin Fox, 2 - Angela Gorrie, 3 - Johanna Dind, 4 - Nick McKerrell, 5 - Raphael De Santos, 6 - Felicity Garvie Socialist Labour Party 1 - Louise McDaid, 2 - David Don, 3 - Katharine McGavigan, 4 - James Berrington, 5 - Claire Watt, 6 - James McDaid Christian Party - Christian Peoples Alliance 1 - Sheila McLaughlan, 2 - John Smart, 3 - Brian Ross, 4 - Archie Linnegan, 5 - Christine Cormack, 6 - Isobel MacLeod Individual Candidate 1 - Duncan Robertson NO2EU - Yes to Democracy 1 - John Foster-Grime, 2 - Tommy Sheridan, 3 - Leah Ganley, 4 - Stuart Hyslop, 5 - Ajit Singh Uppal, 6 - Thomas Morrison Jury Team 1 - Alan Wallace, 2 - John O'Callaghan, 3 - Stuart Brown, 4 - Melville Brown, 5 - Austin Compson-Bradford United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) 1 - Peter Adams, 2 - Paul Henke, 3 - Donald MacKay, 4 - Peter Neilson, 5 - Mike Arthur, 6 - Paul Wiffen |
PS/ (dated Thursday 13AUG09 08.26 BST) I have just realised I have not yet fulfilled my commitment in the final sentence above. I used my vote for my 'default' choice, the Conservatives. Although I am no longer a member and continue to have recurring doubts that they have really 'changed' their fundamentally anti-gay agenda (when the cameras and microphones are safely out of the way), a vote for them is probably the least 'evil' in general policy terms; that's about the best that I am yet prepared to say about them. The circumstance surrounding the creation of their new EP grouping leave many questions unanswered.
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Brown is given a well-deserved public dressing-down
Gordon Brown, our for want of a better term Prime Minister, was attempting to play the 'European Statesman' during a visit today to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, but has been given a very well-deserved public dressing-down before an audience in the EP which seemed quite appreciative of the message that Daniel Hannan MEP delivered. Precise, clear and quite damning, whilst remaining superficially courteous and polite - and absolutely irrefutable. Poor old Brown was left looking decidedly uncomfortable:
- his discomfort could easily be short-lived, if excruciatingly (and deservedly) painful during a brief period, if he would permit many British citizens to show their loyalty by stringing him up from the nearest lamp-post by the neck using some light and strong piano wire. This would be a far more humane fate than he deserves! And he would be performing a public service which might help to redeem some of his wilful economic mismanagement.
Naturally this video is blogged widely - I am pretty sure it will quickly become a classic and will be widely-repeated over coming months and years, particularly during the coming European Parliament elections and whenever we have our next General Election. The economic backdrop (aka 'precipice') to what we will no doubt still be experiencing will provide very suitable context.
- his discomfort could easily be short-lived, if excruciatingly (and deservedly) painful during a brief period, if he would permit many British citizens to show their loyalty by stringing him up from the nearest lamp-post by the neck using some light and strong piano wire. This would be a far more humane fate than he deserves! And he would be performing a public service which might help to redeem some of his wilful economic mismanagement.
Naturally this video is blogged widely - I am pretty sure it will quickly become a classic and will be widely-repeated over coming months and years, particularly during the coming European Parliament elections and whenever we have our next General Election. The economic backdrop (aka 'precipice') to what we will no doubt still be experiencing will provide very suitable context.
Saturday, 21 February 2009
Vaclav Klaus spells out some home truths to the European Parliament
... and they don't like it one little bit. The Czech Republic currently holds the 6-month rotating Presidency of the European Union (EU), so when the President of the Czech Republic addresses the European Parliament (EP) on what should be pretty basic principles of democracy and how the lack of effective governing and opposition groupings within the EP reduces its effectiveness in deciding the affairs of the EU, one would at least have thought that the man could be given a respectful hearing. However, after the rather patronising lecture he received toward the end of last year from then then EU Presidency, France, that was probably a forlorn hope.
A comment President Klaus made quite calmly, that those who dare to think outside the EP's 'consensus' box and propose introduction of proper democratic accountability are denounced as 'enemies of European integration', was eloquently borne out by the reaction from the quite large numbers of hecklers in the EP chamber, even though some appeared to be applauding what he was saying. One might say therefore that whilst there appears to be diversity of viewpoints (what democracy is about in many ways), there is little effort to harness these diverse opinions into coherent strategies, outside of what is considered the current orthodoxy, that furtherance of 'integration' should over-ride democracy. Watch this short video-clip to see just how bizarre are the workings of the EP, if democracy is considered to be of any importance at all:
To me it is particularly poignant that this brief address on what might be called 'Democracy 101' should even be necessary at all [and it clearly is!] and even more remarkable, and sad, that it should come from the President of a country which until quite recently was no more than a Soviet puppet state and what passed for democracy there at the time was a mere travesty of what that word means. For the Czechs, and many other eastern European countries, know the value of democracy and struggled to achieve it over many years and I expect it perplexes then greatly that western European countries, for so long looked at enviously from the east, now seem so disinclined to maintain proper democratic accountability.
(thru GavPolitics - whilst he takes a quite different view from me about the merits of being in the EU [I am strongly in favour], we seem to share a common view on the current 'democratic deficit' within both the EP and EU generally)
A comment President Klaus made quite calmly, that those who dare to think outside the EP's 'consensus' box and propose introduction of proper democratic accountability are denounced as 'enemies of European integration', was eloquently borne out by the reaction from the quite large numbers of hecklers in the EP chamber, even though some appeared to be applauding what he was saying. One might say therefore that whilst there appears to be diversity of viewpoints (what democracy is about in many ways), there is little effort to harness these diverse opinions into coherent strategies, outside of what is considered the current orthodoxy, that furtherance of 'integration' should over-ride democracy. Watch this short video-clip to see just how bizarre are the workings of the EP, if democracy is considered to be of any importance at all:
To me it is particularly poignant that this brief address on what might be called 'Democracy 101' should even be necessary at all [and it clearly is!] and even more remarkable, and sad, that it should come from the President of a country which until quite recently was no more than a Soviet puppet state and what passed for democracy there at the time was a mere travesty of what that word means. For the Czechs, and many other eastern European countries, know the value of democracy and struggled to achieve it over many years and I expect it perplexes then greatly that western European countries, for so long looked at enviously from the east, now seem so disinclined to maintain proper democratic accountability.
(thru GavPolitics - whilst he takes a quite different view from me about the merits of being in the EU [I am strongly in favour], we seem to share a common view on the current 'democratic deficit' within both the EP and EU generally)
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