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Scandal to bring 'volatility' as voters go to polls
THE expenses scandal could help produce "the most volatile voting patterns in living memory" in tomorrow's European elections, with the British National Party winning as many as five seats and the Greens also making big gains, according to a report published today.
As parties prepare for a final day of campaigning before voters go to the polls to elect six Euro MPs for Yorkshire and the Humber, think-tank Democratic Audit said conventional opinion polls could be misleading in an election where turnout is likely to be low and where regional variations may be crucial.
Controversy over MPs' expenses and the recession could combine with the proportional voting system used in the Euro-elections to produce a significant drop in support for the main parties and major gains for smaller groupings, said think-tank director Stuart Wilks-Heeg, the author of the report What are European Elections For?
"This promises to be one of the most unusual elections we have ever seen," said Dr Wilks-Heeg. "The voting system, the current political climate, and regional concentrations of support could see smaller parties fare exceptionally well on Thursday."
With all three major parties engulfed in the expenses scandal, activists fear the UK Independence Party, BNP and Greens could prosper when the results are announced on Sunday.
Yesterday Foreign Secretary David Miliband said it would be a "day of shame" for Britain if the BNP – which is targeting Yorkshire – wins a seat.
Labour accused the Tories of taking the country to the margins of Europe by planning to withdraw from the centre-right European People's Party group in Brussels. But the Tories raised the pressure on Gordon Brown by publishing a bill to pave the way for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. The Bill is ready to be introduced if they win the general election and includes provision to repeal the UK's ratification of Lisbon in the case of a No vote.
Tory leader David Cameron said he would not let the
Prime Minister "off the
hook" over Lisbon and
urged voters to use the June 4 election to put pressure on Mr Brown to deliver on Labour's manifesto promise of a referendum on the European Constitution.
Meanwhile, the UK Independence Party yesterday introduced a Constitutional Reform Bill in the House of Lords which would take Britain out of the European Union, repeal the Human Rights Act and introduce binding referendum powers at national and local level.
Voters in North Yorkshire will also be electing county councillors tomorrow, while in Doncaster a new mayor will be voted in.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
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