2009 European Parliamentary Elections
Will the Liberal Party consider standing the Euro elections next year? Back in 2004 the Liberal Party got a pretty good result in the North-West region with 4.6% of the vote. I can imagine the Liberal Party filling a gap in the political market, for those anti-EU people who think UKIP is too right wing. This could lend itself well to getting some good results. I am wondering whether the Liberal Party has the resources to stand next year, how much do parties have to pay for a deposit in the European elections and how signatures would they have to collect? 2004 North-West Results Labour 576,388, 27.4% Conservative 509,446, 24.2% Liberal Democrat 335,063, 15.9% UKIP 257,158, 11.7% BNP 134,959, 6.4% Green 117,393, 5.6% Liberal 96,325, 4.6% English Democrats 34,110, 1.6% Respect 24,636, 1.2% Countryside 11,283, 0.5% Pro-Life 10,084, 0.5% Independent 8,318, 0.4% Elected Order: 1. Labour #1 576,388 2. Conservative #1 509,446 3. Liberal Democrat #1 335,063 4. Labour #2 288,194 5. UKIP #1 257,158 6. Conservative #2 254,723 7. Labour #3 192,129 8. Conservative #3 169,815 9. Liberal Democrat #2 167,532 I believe the North-West is losing a seat so that means the second Lib Dem MEP drops out. The Liberal Party would have to increase its vote to about 8% to grab a seat. So if the Liberals do have the resources stand it would be an uphill struggle to win a seat.