2009 European Elections

European Parliament Elections

On the 4 June 2009 elections for the European Parliament will take place across the UK with some areas also voting in local elections.

The European Parliament is one of the main decision making institutions of the European Union, and along with the representatives of the Member States' governments in the Council of Ministers, is responsible for determining European legislation.

The laws and regulations passed by the European Union have an impact on our lives. This is particularly so in policy areas such as agriculture, environment and consumer affairs. As the Parliament is the only directly elected part of the EU the forthcoming elections provide an excellent opportunity to influence its activities.

Every five years voters from across the European Union elect representatives to the Parliament. The number from each country is loosely proportional to the population with the UK electing 72 members. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are elected through a proportional system based on the country's regions.

The elections to the European Parliament work in a very different way than elections to the House of Commons. Instead of voting for a specific candidate, when you vote on 4 June you vote for the party you support. Another major difference is that up to 10 MEPs are elected from each constituency, known as regions, and there are only 12 across the whole of the UK.

For elections to House of Commons the candidate with the highest vote wins the seat - there are no second prizes. For European elections the seats are allocated by the share of the vote in each region, this is called proportional representation. For example in London in 2004 Labour and Conservatives won 3 seats each and the Liberal Democrats, Greens and UKIP all gained 1 seat.

Because voters choose the party and not the candidate the seats are distributed by each party according to a pre-determined list of candidates depending on their share of the vote.

Further information about the European Union and the role of the European Parliament and its elections is available here.

European Evangelical Alliance

The European Evangelical Alliance, in collaboration with Care for Europe have produced a range of materials on the European Parliament elections including briefings on a range policy areas. These include family policy, gambling, trafficking as well as other issues.

Please visit www.vote2009.eu for this information

Christians have a biblical calling to integrate their national identity with their spiritual identity. We should live as citizens of our country in a manner that is faithful to our citizenship of God's kingdom. Politics and religion should not be kept in separate compartments because God is sovereign over all of life. Rather, it would be unfaithful to God to isolate our Christian faith from our political involvement.

The Bible is not a political manifesto, but what it teaches reminds Christians to be different from the world in order to make a difference in the world. Through the elections to the European Parliament Christians have an opportunity to act on our faith and seek to influence the laws and policies that shape our societies and the European Union.

As individuals it is important to take time to consider the issues surrounding this election and prayerfully consider who to support. It is unlikely that anyone will agree with 100% of a party's manifesto - so sometimes it can be a difficult decision. There is more information below and links to the manifestoes from the major parties to help you with this decision.

The above is a summary of an essay explaining the case for Christian political involvement from the European Evangelical Alliance. Read the full article.

Lisbon Treaty

One of the major issues at this election will be the Lisbon Treaty. During 2003 to 2005 the European Union drafted and began ratification of a Constitution to establish an enlarged union on. Following intense pressure all parties in the UK committed to holding a referendum on the constitution in their manifestoes for the 2005 General Election. However, referendums in France and the Netherlands both rejected the constitution so this meant that there was never a referendum in the UK.

In 2007 the European Council agreed the Lisbon Treaty which was to replace the now defunct constitution. The Treaty has been ratified by many national parliaments across the European Union including in the UK. Most countries, including France, the Netherlands and the UK ratified the treaty through their parliaments and did not hold referendums. In the UK this has been painted by the Conservatives as a broken manifesto promise by the Labour Government, who in turn have defended their actions by stating that the Treaty is substantially different than the constitution. This is destined to become a key issue during the 2009 elections.

In July 2003 the Evangelical Alliance held a conference on the original constitution proposal. The summary document from the conference is available to read here, and it includes a theological reflection on the concepts behind the European Union which is available separately here

Equality Directive

The EU anti-discrimination directive is an example of recent decisions by the European Parliament. Following the initial proposals substantial amendments were made by the Parliament and the Council of Ministers will now decide whether to accept, amend or reject the directive.

The Directive, as it stands, threatens to remove important exemptions that are currently granted to religious organisations. Although the full extent of the directive has not yet been fully determined, if passed in its current form churches could be prevented from restricting membership, and participation in activities such as communion or baptism, to Christian believers. It could also threaten institutions such as single-sex schools.

Directives such as this provide a minimum standard that the member states must incorporate into their national legislation. This directive is currently inconsistent with the proposals put forward by the UK Government under the Equality Bill currently being considered by Parliament.

Further Information about the European Parliament Elections

The Methodist, Baptist and United Reform Churches have produced a joint briefing on the European Elections, and in particular have highlighted the dangerous rise of political extremism in the UK. A toolkit for church leaders to help counter political extremism is available here

Party Manifestoes - will appear here when available

The Conservative Party's manifesto for the 2009 European Union elections

The Christian People's Alliance's manifesto for the 2009 European Union elections

The Green Party's manifesto for the 2009 European Union elections

The Labour Party's manifesto for the 2009 European Union elections

The Liberal Democrat's manifesto for the 2009 European Union elections

The Plaid Cymru's manifesto for the 2009 European Union Elections

 The Scottish National Party's manifesto for 2009 European Union Elections

The UKIP manifesto for the 2009 European Union elections

The Evangelical Alliance keeps a watching brief on all election activity in the UK. Regional, National and European. At Election time we produce topical political briefing material and a website to keep our members and supporters informed about the key issues of the day.

Information about the Alliance's activities during the 2008 London Mayoral Election

Helpful links regarding all things electoral:

The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament in 2000 to oversee electoral matters. www.electoralcommission.gov.uk

More information about registering to vote and the elections taking place is available at http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk