Pendle News Room

More than five million voters across the North West England region will go to the polls on Thursday 23 May to elect the region’s eight Members of the European Parliament (MEPs.)

But in order to be able to vote, people must be on the Electoral Register by Tuesday 7 May.

Philip Mousdale, Corporate Director and Returning Officer for Pendle Council, said: “If you’ve registered to vote in the local elections you don’t need to register again unless your circumstances have changed, such as you’ve moved house or changed your name.

“You can register to vote online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote”

European Union citizens living in the North West are eligible to vote in the United Kingdom or their country of origin but not both.

To vote in the United Kingdom, you must be registered to vote and have completed an additional form called a UC1 which is available at www.northwestvotes.gov.uk by Tuesday 7 May.

Pendle Council has sent this form to all EU citizens who have registered to vote.

Anyone who is already on the electoral register can also choose to register by post. Applications for a postal vote in this election must be received by 5pm on Wednesday 8 May.

The deadline to apply for a proxy vote is 5pm on Wednesday 15 May. To find out more visit www.yourvotematters.co.uk

A full list of candidates for the European Parliamentary Elections is available at www.northwestvotes.gov.uk

Joanne Roney OBE, Regional Returning Officer for the European Elections in the North West, said: “We don’t want anyone who wants to have their say in these elections to miss out because they are not registered.”

The European Parliamentary Elections are run using a form of proportional representation.

Voters have one vote only, and this can be cast for either a political party or an individual candidate.

Each party puts forward a list of candidates for the North West and the allocation of the eight MEP positions will depend on the overall share of the vote that a party or individual candidate receives in the region.

MEPs represent the whole of the North West region and so everybody who is eligible to vote in the region will be voting from the same list of parties and candidates.

The North West region covers Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside.