Full South West Result
The result for the South West MEP Selections is as follows: 1) Giles Chichester MEP, 2) Julie Girling, 3) Ashley Fox, 4) Michael Dolley, 5) Don Collier and 6) Zehra Zaidi.
It looks as though my prediction of the final vote was almost completely wrong. Oh well, what do I know? Results from the other EU electoral regions around Britain can be found at ConservativeHome in a running update.
Despite changes in the number of MEPs the South West elects (and I use the term ‘elects’ very loosely) being reduced from seven to six, it is almost guaranteed that Giles Chichester and Julie Girling will be elected in 2009 to serve as MEPs in Brussels. However, Ashley Fox’s expenses paid first class ticket on the Euro-star is not quite so assured.
At the European elections in 2004, UKIP increased their share of the vote by 12% when compared with the result from 1999. With an ever growing mood of discontent directed towards our own self-serving Government, Parliament and the European Union, there is every chance that UKIP will poll even more strongly at the next EU elections in 2009.
Nick Webb has reminded me that depending upon overall turnout and how well other parties such as the Greens and UKIP poll, it may only take as little as an increase of 600 votes per Parliamentary constituency within the South West to win a third Conservative MEP. In the current political climate this is of course more than achievable.
Your Comments:
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- Marcus Swanson
This whole selections business has brought shame on the party. Women and incumbent candidates should not have received preferential treatment.
Despite the problems we must now work hard to make sure the party polls well in 2009 and elects three strong MEPs.
