How do EU Elections Work in the UK? - Brexit Explained

It looks like the UK will be taking part in the upcoming EU elections, to be held in May. So in this video we discuss how European Parliamentary elections work in the UK. The system is really quite different to the standard, first past the post system, used in almost all other UK elections.

Additional Writing from Josh Watts

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[alexlaza]

Both voting methods are far more democratic than the UK General Election.

[matthewlillywhite]

I’d be interested in learning more about the EU itself, how it works, it’s structures, history, treaties etc.

There isn’t much in YouTube that covers this in a) any detail and b) particularly well so I would like a video series outlining this

[quid]

It's interesting that the electoral system for electing "unelected bureaucrats" is more robust than the system for electing our own MPs to the Commons.

[baronDioxid]

Britain voting in the EU elections feels like the guy who farts before getting off the elevator.

[VaradMahashabde]

I was hoping it was more like the parliament

DIVISION
CLEAR THE FIELDS

[jasperkoelman]

Can you cover some of the big party's in the EU parlement

[Snaily]

I've always said that STV is the best system we could use.

[MMartec]

Wow... very interesting! I am from Portugal, lived in England and in Germany. And I must say, I honestly thought we all had the same voting system at the European elections...
As you offered in your video :) I would be very curious to watch your same analysis of the European election systems in other countries... maybe not one by one, but well synthesized as you can do so nicely ;)

[MrLanceDBrown]

Yes, please give the European elections good coverage. The mainstream media’s coverage is really bad and we need you help with knowing what’s going on.

[UTubeTulip]

Wait so Northern Ireland already differs from the rest of the UK? Are the DUP aware of this?

[JakubRubas]

Well, I´ll be damned thanks to you I finally understood d´hondt method. Appreciated.

[vdskristof]

D'Hondt (1:43) is pronounced more like "daunt".
Dutch speaking Belgian here.

[MalloonTarka]

While I already know how it works, I'd like to request a video on how the European Union's institutions are organised and formed, with emphasis on the European Parliment, European Council, European Commission, President of the European Commission (PUC), President of the European Council and President of the European Parliament (and maybe an aside to note the Council of the EU being something entirely different). This would help people understand how the EU works and that it is far from undemocratic.


Points I'd like to see mentioned are:
1) The European Council is made up of the heads of state or countries of each member state plus the Presidents of the European Commission and Council.
2) How the European Commission is formed (via the European Council and Parliament).
3) What the European Commission does, with emphasis on proposing legislation.
4) What the European Parliament does, with emphasis on its veto rights.
5) How the European Parliament is elected.
5) What the various Presidents do and who is the de facto head of the EU (I see a lot of people not understanding the difference between Tusk and Juncker's jobs).

[xway]

I definitely want to know about different systems in different countries. I don't have a specific country in mind, but it would be nice to maybe get an overview of a few different systems. I feel like they can't be that different from one another (but maybe I'm wrong), so a whole video for just one other country might be redundant. Though I'd definitely watch it if one was released.

[joaquinandreu]

Closed list means that you vote for the WHOLE list of a party's candidates:


I.E: In Spain, in EUROPEAN and Parliament elections, each party ballot includes the list of candidates. i.e a ballot for the centre party Ciudadanos is printed with the list:

1. Luis Garicano
2. Maite Pagaza
3. Soraya Rodríguez
4. Javier Nart
5. José Ramón Bauzá
6. Jordi Cañas
7. Susana Solis
8. Adrián Vázquez López
9. Eva Maria Potcheva
10. Matías Alonso
11. Cristiano Brown
12. Elisa de la Nuez


You either vote for that list or don't. You can not choose the order of the candidates, is chosen by the party.


Meanwhile, for the Senate elections, Spain uses an OPEN LIST, where you can pick whose candidates you vote, and you can actually vote for several candidates of different parties at once.

[SRFriso]

That, btw, is why the UK election system is one of the worst in the world: the disproportionate results. Not only that, but people will vote strategically because of it, voting for either Labour or Conservative, when they really want to vote for a smaller party, but know that the MP for their constituency stands no chance in hell of winning there. In the previous election cycle, I believe it was in Belfast South, where one MP got elected with less than a quarter of the votes, just because the populous was so divided. That system needs to change.

[verbekejules]

@TLDRnews, please make a video on the EU Elections in Belgium! (Btw on the 26st of May, we have 3 elections: the districts, national parliament and European + it is mandatory to vote !)

[andreimircea]

please do a video about how european elections work in each state.

[TheHairyKarl]

Sadly learnt more about politics from tldr news over these past couple of months then I did over many years at school. Thanks tldr!

[tomholmes]

Do a video about other countries MEP Elections. Even one that just goes quickly over the differences from the UK's process.
Plus I want to see all the little countries in shoes!!