Everything you need to know about European elections in Sussex

Sussex voters will head to the polls for the European elections next Thursday (May 23).
Home of the European Commission in Brussels (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) SUS-190513-170801003Home of the European Commission in Brussels (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) SUS-190513-170801003
Home of the European Commission in Brussels (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) SUS-190513-170801003

Why are these elections being held?

The UK is set to elect 73 new Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to Brussels.

These elections would not have happened if the country had left the EU on March 29, but will now go ahead after Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement failed to win the support of Parliament.

The Brexit deadline for the UK leaving the EU has been extended to October, meaning European elections have to be held (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) SUS-190513-170812003The Brexit deadline for the UK leaving the EU has been extended to October, meaning European elections have to be held (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) SUS-190513-170812003
The Brexit deadline for the UK leaving the EU has been extended to October, meaning European elections have to be held (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) SUS-190513-170812003
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Newly-elected MEPs may not take their seats if a deal is agreed before the start of July, but this is not believed to be likely.

What happens in Sussex?

The South East region, which elects ten MEPs, covers East Sussex, Brighton and Hove, West Sussex, the Isle of Wight, Hampshire, Kent, Surrey, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

The last elections were held in 2014, with the South East electing four UKIP MEPs, three Conservatives, one Green, one Labour and one Lib Dem.

Pro-Brexit and anti-Brexit activists stand in the afternoon sunshine with their placards outside the Palace of Westminster in central London on May 13, 2019. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Image)Pro-Brexit and anti-Brexit activists stand in the afternoon sunshine with their placards outside the Palace of Westminster in central London on May 13, 2019. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Image)
Pro-Brexit and anti-Brexit activists stand in the afternoon sunshine with their placards outside the Palace of Westminster in central London on May 13, 2019. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Image)

How do I vote?

Polling in the UK will take place on Thursday May 23 from 7am to 10pm.

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In England, Scotland and Wales the voting system for the European elections is the d’Hondt system of proportional representation - regional closed list.

The political parties put forward names of candidates in rank order, with no more than the number of seats allowed for each party in each region.

The ballot paper lists the parties’ names and their candidates as well as any independents.

Voters just put a cross next to either the party or independent candidate they wish to vote for.

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After the results are announced the first seat is given to the party with the most votes in each region.

This party’s votes are then divided by the number of seats it has plus one (in this case two).

After this is done the next party with the highest number of votes gets the second seat, with the process repeated until all ten MEPs in the region are elected.

When are results expected?

The majority of countries in the EU go to the polls on Sunday, meaning results in the UK will not be declared until after 10pm on Sunday night.

Who can I vote for?

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Alongside the Conservatives, Greens, Labour, Lib Dems and UKIP, this election will also see candidates put forward from the new Brexit Party and Change UK,

SOUTH EAST CANDIDATES:

CHANGE UK

Richard Ashworth

Victoria Groulef

Warren Morgan

Eleanor Fuller

Robin Bextor

Nicholas Mazze

Suzana Carp

Phil Murphy

Heather Allen

Diane Yeo

CONSERVATIVE

Daniel Hannan

Nirj Deva

Richard Robinson

Michael Whiting

Juliette Ash

Anna Firth

Adrian Pepper

Clarence Mitchell

Neva Sadikoglu-Novaky

Caroline Newton

GREEN

Alexandra Philips

Elise Benjamin

Vix Lowthion

Leslie Groves Williams

Phelim Mac Cafferty

Jan Doerfel

Larry Sanders

Isabella Moir

Oliver Sykes

Jonathan Essex

LABOUR

John Howarth

Cathy Shutt

Arran Neathey

Emma Christina Turnbull

Rohit Dasgupta

Amy Fowler

Duncan Shaw Thomas Enright

Lubna Arshad

Simon Burgess

Rachael Ward

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS

Catherine Bearder

Anthony Hook

Judith Bunting

Martin Tod

Liz Leffman

Chris Bowers

Giles Goodall

Ruvi Ziegler

Nick Perry

John Vincent

THE BREXIT PARTY

Nigel Farage

Alexandra Phillips

Robert Rowland

Belinda de Lucy

James Bartholomew

Christopher Ellis

John Kennedy

Matthew Taylor

George Farmer

Peter Wiltshire

THE SOCIALIST PARTY OF GREAT BRITAIN

Mandy Bruce

Raymond Carr

David Chesham

Robert Cox

Michael Foster

Stephen Harper

Neil Kirk

Anton Pruden

Andrew Thomas-Emans

Darren Williams

UK EUROPEAN UNION PARTY

Pacelli Ndikumana

Clinton Powell

UKIP

Piers Wauchope

Liz Phillips

Daryll Pitcher

Toby Brothers

Tony Gould

Clive Keith Egan

Troy De Leon

Alan Harvey Stone

Judy Moore

Pat Mountain

INDEPENDENTS

Jason McMahon

David Round

Michael Turberville

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