04/06/2009

More Heat On Brown Amid Election Fever

Polling stations opened up and down the country this morning, for the hotly contested European elections.

Voters in England will also be selecting representatives in local council elections.

Both will be the last major UK polls before a general election is called.

They will be judged as litmus tests for the damage caused to the country's main political parties by the ongoing MPs expenses revelations.

Many have predicted the electorate will use the ballot box to send a clear message to Gordon Brown's government over the issue.

Fifty-nine European Parliament seats are up for grabs in England, with Scotland electing six MEPs, Wales four and Northern Ireland sending three representatives to Brussels.

Although voting opened at 7am today, and will continue until 10pm, first results are not expected until mid-afternoon on Monday.

Voters in the Netherlands will also take to the polls today, followed by Ireland tomorrow.

The remaining EU member states will vote over the weekend. Results cannot been counted until all EU countries have closed their polls.

European voter turn-out across the UK is generally quite low. In 2004 it stood at 38%, compared to the EU average of 45.5%.

Some have predicted this year's turnout could slump further, however, more optimistic experts say there is a chance it could tip 50% - depending on, among other things, the weather.

Meanwhile, councillors across England will also face the electorate today.

Twenty-seven county councils and seven unitary councils elections are being held, in addition to three mayoral votes being cast.

The results could provide an insight into the demographic 'swing' of voters at grass-roots level.

(PR/JM)

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