On 23 May 2019, member states of the European Union will elect MEPs to the European Parliament. Despite its best efforts, the United Kingdom is still an EU member state, and will be participating.

I’ve previously polled Grindr users on Brexit, Scottish independence, the 2016 US election, the 2015 UK general election in Scotland and in Wales, and the 2017 election in Scotland and in England. This time, I asked 1,024 Grindr users across the Central Belt of Scotland, in and around Edinburgh and Glasgow, who they’re supporting in this year’s European election.

The following is a sample of the replies.

(Identifiable faces in profile pictures have been censored.)





STATISTICS:

Of the 1,024 users I questioned, 406 responses were counted. 133 of these users settled on a party or candidate. Here are their results:

48.0% (60) Scottish National Party (SNP) 18.4% (23) Scottish Green Party 10.4% (13) The Brexit Party 8.8% (11)

Liberal Democrats 5.6% (7) Conservative and Unionist Party 4.8% (6)

Labour Party 2.4% (3) UK Independence Party (UKIP) 1.6% (2) Change UK – The Independent Group

In addition, some votes were received for parties and candidates who are not on the Scottish ballot. These were:

2 Unidas Podemos 2 Lord Buckethead 1 Monster Raving Loony Party 1 German Green Party 1 Die Linke 1 Democracy for Europe (DiEM25)

A further 273 users responded, but did not settle on a party.

46 were undecided, and could not be swayed to pick a favourite.

Some voters who were undecided, or unwilling to express support for one specific party over the others, still gave some indication of their preferences:

7 Any nominally Remain-supporting/anti-Brexit party 2 Green, Lib Dem, or SNP 2 Green or SNP 2 Anything but The Brexit Party 1 Change UK or Labour 1 Change UK or Lib Dem 1 Green or Labour 1 Green or Lib Dem 1 Lib Dem or SNP 1 Anything but Conservative 1 Anything but SNP

In any case where a Grindr user was undecided on their final vote, but still able to pick a favourite party, they were counted towards that party’s tally. However, I also noted their second preferences.

7 SNP supporters are also considering voting Green .

supporters are also considering voting . 1 Lib Dem supporter is also considering voting Green .

supporter is also considering voting . 1 SNP supporter is also considering voting Lib Dem .

supporter is also considering voting . 1 Brexit supporter is also considering voting UKIP.



44 polled do not support any party, or stated that they were not going to vote. This includes 1 respondent who intends to spoil their ballot.

27 are not eligible to vote. Of those who gave reasons, 17 are not European citizens, 5 are travelling or busy on election day and unable to arrange a postal or proxy vote, 3 missed the registration deadline, and 1 is underage.

Other responses can be roughly categorised as follows:

27 Miscellaneous evasion 22 Explicitly declined to answer 18 Too horny to engage politically 17 General bewilderment 14 Lack of interest 13 Cryptic or incomprehensible 10 Comedy answers ("S Club", "Jedi", "my own ass" etc.) 8 Just replying “hi” or “hello” or something, ignoring the opening question, and proceeding to attempt a conversation like it was never asked 6 General hostility 6 Unaware there was an election happening 5 Just laughed at me 5 General nihilism (what's the point, we're all fucked etc.) 5 Thought I was talking about Eurovision

Finally, let’s go back to the parties’ votes and calculate how they’d equate to MEPs. In European Parliament elections, the UK uses the D’Hondt system, in which each seat is given to the party with the greatest number of votes, divided by one plus the number of those already allocated to that party. Each MEP would be as follows:

60 SNP MEP #1: Alyn Smith, the SNP’s 1st candidate. 23 Green 13 Brexit 11 Lib Dem 7 Conservative 6 Labour 3 UKIP 2 CHUKTIG

30 (60/2) SNP MEP #2: Christian Allard, the SNP’s 2nd candidate. 23 Green 13 Brexit 11 Lib Dem 7 Conservative 6 Labour 3 UKIP 2 CHUKTIG

20 (60/3) SNP 23 Green MEP #3: Maggie Chapman, the Greens’ 1st candidate. 13 Brexit 11 Lib Dem 7 Conservative 6 Labour 3 UKIP 2 CHUKTIG

20 (60/3) SNP MEP #4: Aileen Macleod, the SNP’s 3rd candidate. 11.5 (23/2) Green 13 Brexit 11 Lib Dem 7 Conservative 6 Labour 3 UKIP 2 CHUKTIG

15 (60/4) SNP MEP #5: Margaret Ferrier, the SNP’s 4th candidate. 11.5 (23/2) Green 13 Brexit 11 Lib Dem 7 Conservative 6 Labour 3 UKIP 2 CHUKTIG

12 (60/5) SNP 11.5 (23/2) Green 13 Brexit MEP #6: Louis Stedman-Bryce, the Brexit Party’s 1st candidate. 11 Lib Dem 7 Conservative 6 Labour 3 UKIP 2 CHUKTIG

If only Grindr users vote on May 23, Scotland will elect 4 SNP MEPs, 1 Green MEP, and 1 Brexit MEP.