Euro elections – what will happen in the South West?

The European Parliament constituency of South West England will elect six MEPs on May 22nd to represent a large area with a few big cities (like Bristol and the Bournemouth/Poole area) and a lot of rural landscape. Last time, the Conservatives gained half the region’s seats. The Tories can expect to come top in vote share again, but an improved Labour showing should mean that they take one Tory MEP’s seat. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats will have a tough fight to hold on to their sole MEP in the region, according to the Democratic Audit team. Finally, UKIP should run more strongly, but may not gain more than its current two seats, unless it surges into the lead.