The vote that the British people should never have been asked to cast: the European elections
European elections. The big winner was the Brexit Party.
One third of votes were cast for parties that support no deal. The Brexit Party swept across Britain, and the Liberal Democrats and Green Party also made gains. On average turnout was 36.7%, up a little less than two percentage points on the last EU election in 2014.
Young people could turn the Brexit tide
How UK young people voted in the EU elections 2019. UK Electoral Commission data from April showed that one in three young people (defined as 18-34s) were not registered to vote, a starkly low figure in comparison to the over 95% of over 65’s registered.
Table: European Parliament election turnout % by country 1979—2019
Member States | 1979 | 1984 | 1989 | 1994 | 1999 | 2004 | 2009 | 2014 | 2019 |
United Kingdom | 32.35% | 32.57% | 36.37% | 36.43% | 24% | 38.52% | 34.7% | 35.60% | 37% |
Average EU Turnout | 61.99% | 58.98% | 58.41% | 56.67% | 49.51% | 45.47% | 42.97% | 42.61% | 50.82 |