Shropshire voters head to the polls for European Elections
Voters across the country are heading to the polls today to choose their representatives in the European Parliament.
The elections are a time for residents to have a say in who become the next Members of European Parliament (MEPs) and represent the West Midlands.
The UK will be represented by 73 MEPs, of which seven will be from the West Midlands region.
Parties list seven candidates in numerical order of who they want to represent the party if seats are won and then, when the party knows how many seats they have gained, they can implement their choice of MEP.
Britain is one of eight countries which uses a "closed list" voting system – so you vote for a party, rather than an individual.
The parties you can vote for are:
- Labour
- Conservatives
- Liberal Democrats
- UK Independence Party
- Green Party
- British National Party
- English Democrats
- We Demand a Referendum Now Party
- An Independence from Europe
- no2eu yes to democracy
- Harmony Party
Nobody wins the European elections, as there is no government and opposition benches like at Westminster.
The European Parliament simply represents EU citizens, in contrast to the Council of Ministers, which represents the governments.
Its powers have steadily increased over the years – and analysts say the make-up of the new Parliament is likely to have a decisive influence on the future direction of the EU, particularly if, as expected, there is a large block of Eurosceptic MEPs.
Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm this evening.
The results will be announced once the other 27 European Union countries have finished voting on the evening of Sunday, 25 May.
