European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002

Section 1.

SCHEDULE 1 U.K. Electoral regions in England

Electoral regions U.K.

1 The electoral regions for England are those listed in the Table below.

2 (1) A reference in the Table to a local government or administrative area is a reference to that area as it is for the time being.

(2) But where an area specified in column (2) of the Table is altered, the alteration does not have effect for the purposes of this Act until the first general election of MEPs at which the poll in the United Kingdom takes place after the alteration comes into force for all other purposes.

Number of MEPs for each region U.K.

3 The number of MEPs to be elected for each electoral region in England is the number specified in column (3) of the Table.

4 (1) Each registration officer is to notify the Secretary of State, by 28th May in each pre-election year, of the number of persons whose names appear, on 1st May in that year, in any relevant register maintained by him.

(2) As soon as possible after 1st May in each pre-election year the Secretary of State must—

(a) consider, in relation to each electoral region in England, the number of persons whose names appear on that date in (or in part of) any relevant register which relates to the region,

(b) consider whether the ratio of such persons to MEPs is as nearly as possible the same for every such region, and

(c) make by order such amendments of column (3) of the Table as he considers necessary to ensure that result.

(3) For the purposes of sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) there is to be disregarded any person who—

(a) is registered only for the purposes of local government elections, and

(b) is a citizen of the European Union but not a Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland.

(4) An order under sub-paragraph (2) must not alter the total number of MEPs to be elected for the electoral regions in England.

(5) In this paragraph “pre-election year” means any year after 2002 which immediately precedes a year in which general elections would be held in accordance with Article 10(2) of the Act annexed to Council Decision 76/787.

(6) For the purposes of this paragraph the relevant registers are—

(a) a register of parliamentary electors;

(b) a register of local government electors;

(c) a register of peers maintained under section 3 of the Representation of the People Act 1985 (c. 50) (peers resident outside the United Kingdom);

(d) a register maintained under regulation 5 of the European Parliamentary Elections (Franchise of Relevant Citizens of the Union) Regulations 2001 (S.I.2001/1184) (citizens of the European Union other than Commonwealth and Republic of Ireland citizens).

TABLE

(1)	(2)	(3)
Name of Region	Area Included	Number of MEPs
East Midlands	County of Derby County of Derbyshire County of Leicester County of Leicestershire County of Lincolnshire County of Northamptonshire County of Nottingham County of Nottinghamshire County of Rutland	6
Eastern	County of Bedfordshire County of Cambridgeshire County of Essex County of Hertfordshire County of Luton County of Norfolk County of Peterborough County of Southend-on-Sea County of Suffolk County of Thurrock	8
London	Greater London	10
North East	County of Darlington County of Durham County of Hartlepool County of Middlesbrough County of Northumberland County of Redcar and Cleveland County of Stockton-on-Tees County of Tyne and Wear	4
North West	County of Blackburn with Darwen County of Blackpool County of Cheshire County of Cumbria County of Greater Manchester County of Halton County of Lancashire County of Merseyside County of Warrington	10
South East	County of Berkshire County of Brighton and Hove County of Buckinghamshire County of East Sussex County of Hampshire County of Isle of Wight County of Kent County of the Medway Towns County of Milton Keynes County of Oxfordshire County of Portsmouth County of Southampton County of Surrey County of West Sussex	11
South West	County of Bath and North East Somerset County of Bournemouth County of the City of Bristol County of Cornwall County of Devon County of Dorset County of Gloucestershire County of North Somerset County of Plymouth County of Poole County of Somerset County of South Gloucestershire County of Swindon County of Torbay County of Wiltshire Isles of Scilly	7
West Midlands	County of Herefordshire County of Shropshire County of Staffordshire County of Stoke-on-Trent County of Telford and Wrekin County of Warwickshire County of West Midlands County of Worcestershire	8
Yorkshire and the Humber	County of the City of Kingston upon Hull County of the East Riding of Yorkshire County of North East Lincolnshire County of North Lincolnshire County of North Yorkshire County of South Yorkshire County of West Yorkshire County of York	7