Who should I vote for in the European elections to get a pro-remain MEP?

It’s difficult because there are so many pro-remain parties vying for your vote. The Lib Dems, Change UK, the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Green party are all clearly in favour of staying in the EU. But the voting system means that parties need to get quite a high proportion of the vote in some regions to win any seats. The Greens managed to get an MEP on 9% in London last time but in the north-east the lowest-ranked successful candidate was the Ukip MEP with 29% of the vote. Obviously, the pro-EU parties would have a better chance of representation if they collectively agreed on a list of clear “remain alliance” candidates in each area.

How can I vote tactically?

The campaigner Gina Miller has launched a Remain United website showing which party has the best chance in each region. It suggests a vote for the Liberal Democrats in England, Plaid Cymru in Wales and the SNP in Scotland. The website says the number of pro-EU MEPs could increase from 10 to 16, according to calculations by Electoral Calculus and ComRes. However, voting like this would wipe out the Greens – who currently have 3 MEPs – and it would provide no momentum to Change UK, which is trying to establish itself as a dominant pro-EU force.

Why is the website recommending the Liberal Democrats rather than the other pro-EU parties?

The thinking appears to be that the Lib Dems have better infrastructure, campaigning power and a core voter base. However, people may have many other reasons for wanting to support other pro-EU parties, such as sending a message on the environment by voting Green, or wanting to back a fresh political party untainted by the history of the coalition.

Why won’t the pro-EU candidates group together?

The parties have been thinking about it for some other electoral contests but there was little time for the newly formed Change UK and the Lib Dems to thrash out a deal before the parties had to submit their lists. The parties also believe they have distinct identities and many of their candidates want the chance to stand under their own banners.

What about voting for Labour?

Certainly Labour has the best chance of forcing a second referendum on the government by demanding it as a precondition of a Brexit deal with Theresa May. However, it is not unambiguously a party of remain as its policy is to push for a Labour Brexit deal and then a second referendum only if this or a general election cannot be achieved.

• This article was amended on 10 May 2019. An earlier version said that in the last European parliamentary election, the lowest-ranked successful candidate in the north-west of England was a Ukip MEP with 29% of the vote. The area was meant to be the north-east.







