South West Euros
The South West European region covers Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire and the British Overseas territory of Gibraltar. It currently returns 7 members of the European Parliament, but this will reduce to 6 at the next election, meaning the Conservatives notionally lose a seat.
In 2004 the region returned 3 Conservative MEPs, 2 UKIP MEPs, 1 Lib Dem MEP and 1 Labour MEP.
Sitting MEPs and 2004 Results
| 1. |  |
Neil Parish (Conservative) | 457,371 (31.6%) | (Will stand down at next election) |
| 2. |  |
Trevor Colman (UKIP) | 326,684 (22.6%) | (Replaced Graham Booth 2008) |
| 3. |  |
Graham Watson (Liberal Democrat) | 265,619 (18.3%) | |
| 4. |  |
Caroline Jackson (Conservative) | (228,686) | (Will stand down at next election) |
| 5. |  |
Glyn Ford (Labour) | 209,908 (14.5%) | |
| 6. |  |
Roger Knapman (UKIP) | (163,342) | (Will stand down at next election) |
| 7. |  |
Giles Chichester (Conservative) | (152,457) | |
| -. | Green | 103,821 (7.2%) | ||
| -. | BNP | 43,653 (3.0%) | ||
| -. | Countryside | 30,824 (2.1%) | ||
| -. | Respect | 10,437 (0.7%) |
2009 Candidates
| 1. | Glyn Ford. Sitting MEP. Born 1950, Gloucester. Educated at Reading University. Former research fellow at Manchester University. Former Tameside councillor. First elected as MEP for Greater Manchester East 1984. MEP for South West England since 1999. |
| 2. |  Isabel Owen. Educated at Egglscliffe Comprehensive and Bristol University. Former political consultant. Has worked as head of Glyn Ford’s office. Contested Tiverton and Honiton 2001, Forest of Dean 2005. |
| 3. |  Keir Dhillon. Contested Tewkesbury 2001. Contested 2004 European elections. |
| 4. |  Dorothea Hodge. Former special advisor now working for the Social Market Foundation and Westminster Foundation for Democracy. |
| 5. |  Dafydd Emlyn Williams. |
| 6. | Elizabeth Liago. |
| 1. | Giles Chichester. Sitting MEP. Born 1946, London. Formerly worked for his family business, publishing maps and guides. First elected as MEP for Devon and East Plymouth 1994. MEP for the South West since 1999. Former leader of the Conservative group in the European parliament, he stood down in 2008 after it was revealed he had claimed Parliamentary expenses for a family business. He was later cleared of a conflict of interest by the European Parliament. |
| 2. |  Julie Girling. Cotswold District councillor. Gloucestershire County councillor. Contested South West in 2004 European elections. |
| 3. |  Ashley Fox. Born 1969. Educated at the Kings School, Worcester and Bristol Polytechnic. Solicitor. Contested Bath 2001. Bristol councillor since 2002. |
| 4. |  Mike Dolley. Campaign director for the Conservative party. |
| 5. |  Don Collier. Former commodities dealer and owner of a diving school, now working as an IT consultant. Poole councillor since 1999. |
| 6. |  Zehra Zaidi. Educated at Warwick University. Solicitor. |
| 1. | Graham Watson. Sitting MEP. Born 1956, Rothesay. Educated at City of Bath Boys School and Heriot-Watt University. Prior to his elected worked as a university administrator, head of David Steel’s office and for HSBC. First elected as MEP for Somerset and North Devon 1994. Leader of the Liberal group in the European Parliament since 2002. |
| 2. |  Kay Barnard. Farmer and director of a publishing company. Former Somerset County Councillor. Contested Bristol South 2005. |
| 3. |  Justine McGuinness. Educated at London University. PR Consultant who represented the parents of Madeleine McCann. Contested Holborn and St Pancras 1997, West Dorset 2005. |
| 4. |  Humphrey Temperley. Torridge councillor, South Somerset councillor 1981-1999. Devon County councillor since 2005, former Somerset county councillor. |
| 5. |  Paul Massey. Cheltenham councillor. |
| 6. |  Jonathan Stagnetto. Educated at King College. Director of a family business. Member of the Liberal Party of Gibraltar. |
| 1. | Trevor Colman. Sitting MEP. Born 1941, St Breward. Former police officer and television script advisor. MEP for the South West since 2008, suceeding Graham Booth upon his retirement. Contested Teignbridge 2005. |
| 2. |  William Legge, the Earl of Dartmouth. Born 1949. Conservative member of the House of Lords until the exclusion of hereditary peers. Defected to UKIP in 2007. |
| 3. |  Gawain Towler. Educated at Clayesmore School and University of York. Former journalist, now working for the Ind/Dem group in the European Parliament. Contested Glasgow Maryhill for the Conservatives in 2001. |
| 4. |  Julia Reid. Will contest Chippenham at the next general election. |
| 5. | Alan Wood. |
| 6. |  Stephanie McWilliam. Former radiographer, now runs a private air travel company. |
| 1. |  Ricky Knight. Modern languages teacher. Contested North Devon 2005, will contest North Devon at the next general election.. |
| 2. |  Roger Creagh-Osborne. Electronic engineer. |
| 3. |  David Taylor.Contested South West region in 1999, 2004 European Elections. |
| 4. |  Molly Scott Cato.Born 1963, Wales. Educated at Oxford University. Reader in Green Economics at Cardiff University. Contested Preseli Pembrokeshire 1997, 2005. |
| 5. |  Chloe Somers.Educated at University of East Anglia. |
| 6. |  Richard Lawson.Semi retired GP. |
| 1. |  Jeremy Wotherspoon. Retired estate agent and sales negotiator. Contested Watford F1974, O1974, Cambridge by-election 1976, all for the National Front. |
| 2. |  Barry Bennett. Born Bournemouth. IT tutor. Contested South West region in 2004 European elections. |
| 3. |  Adrian Romilly. Born Kent. Educated at University College London. |
| 4. |  Sean Twitchin. Born Aldershot 1965. Educated at East London University. Surveyor. |
| 5. |  Lawrence West. Unemployed construction site manager. |
| 6. |  Peryn Parsons. Born London. |
| 1. |  Dick Cole. Archaelogist. Restormel borough councillor since 1999. Leader of Mebyon Kernow. |
| 2. |  Conan Jenkin. born Cornwall. College lecturer. Contested Truro and St Austell 2001, 2005. Deputy leader of Mebyon Kernow. |
| 3. |  Loveday Jenkin. Lecturer. Kerrier councillor since 1996. |
| 4. |  Simon Reed. Former Penwith councillor for the Liberal Democrats. |
| 5. |  Glenn Renshaw. Caradon District councillor. Defected from the Liberal Democrats in 2008. |
| 6. | Joannie Willet. |
| 1. |  Robin Matthews Former lieutenant colonel in the Light Dragoons. Leader of Libertas in the UK. |
| 2. Peter Morgan-Barnes | 3. Chloe Gwynne |
| 4. Christopher Charnock | 5. Nicholas Carlton |
| 6. Nicholas Charles |
| 1. |  Alex Gordon Member of the RMT executive. |
| 2. | Roger Davey Health worker. Member of the Socialist Party. |
| 3. | Rachel Lynch Special needs teacher. |
| 4. |  Nick Quirk Member of the RMT executive. |
| 5. | John Chambers Retired union official |
| 6. | Paul Dyer |
| 1. |  Sally Smith PR agent and former journalist. |
| 2. |  Martin Paley Citizens Advice Bureau manager and former retail manager. Former Liberal Democrat. |
| 3. |  Michael Clayton Project manager |
| 4. | Brian Underwood Educated at Clifton College. Semi-retired court reporter, formerly ran a structural steel company. |
| 5. |  Roger Whitfield IT technician and consultant. |
| 6. |  William Barnett Business development manager. |
| 1. | William Capstick. |
| 2. Katherine Mills | 3. Diana Ofori |
| 4. Larna Martin | 5. Peter Vickers |
| 6. Adenike Williams |
| 1. | Robert Hawkins. Contested Plymouth Devonport 2005. |
| 2. Brian Corbett | 3. Alison Entwhistle |
| 4. David Marchesi | 5. Rob Hawkins |
| 6. James Bannister |
| 1. |  Michael Turner. |
| 2. Sara Box | 3. Keith Riley |
| 4. Stephen Wright | 5. Raymond Carr |
| 6. Lee Pickering |
| 1. |  Nicola Guagliardo. |
| 2. |  Joy Skey. |
Pensioners Party
| 1. |  Jonathan Cockburn. Born 1956. Educated at Emanuel School and London University. Managing director of a facilities management company. Contested Sedgefield 2005 as a “Blair Must Go” candidate. |
| 2. Barry Hodgson | 3. Derek Wharton |
| 4. Roger Edwards | 5. Stuart Baker |
| 6. Berry Egerton |
Fair Pay Fair Trade
| 1. | David Michael. Cohousing property developer. |
| 2. | Judy Foster. |
There is also one independent candidate standing:
Katie Hopkins (Independent) Born 1975, Barnstaple. Educated at Exeter University. Former contestant on The Apprentice and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.
“The Labour party will not have a single seat on the new Cornwall UA. ”
They also won no seats on Dorset CC. They won 4 each in Devon and Gloucestershire and 2 each in Bristol, Wiltshire and Somerset.
A total of 14 seats won in this region out of 472
To be fair there were not local elections in Plymouth, Swindon or Bristol south of the Avon. If there ahd been Labour would have won a handful of seats in each of those areas.
There were a lot of counties in which Labour were down to one or two seats. It will be cold comfort to Labour, but the other parties should be disappointed too. One councillor means that there is somebody to get the agenda papers etc and to report back to a County Labour Party. Two councilors means that they can propose and second resolutions. It is far harder for a party to come back from a total wipe-out.
Interesting that in my local county Staffordshire Labour have fewer county councillors than in Devon and Gloucestershire.
They also have fewer county counillors in Staffordshire than UKIP
Labour polled below Greens in Devon and Cornwall!
ConservativeHome are saying they think early indications show that Glyn Ford, Labour’s only MEP in the South West, has lost his seat. Don’t know how reliable that statement is.
BBC are reporting that Mebyon Kernow may have beaten Labour here.
Pete will be pleased to learn that UKIP have stayed on top in Plymouth – by 18 votes over the Tories!
All 2004’s top four parties lost vote share, but Labour did by far the worst, dropping behind the Greens and losing their seat. The Greens came around 12,000 votes from taking the third Conservative seat, the only party to do significantly better than in 2004 here.
Note on Labour and Mebyon Kernow – the BBC have now corrected themselves and say that MK were ahead in Cornwall – bad for Labour, but much less surprising! Across the region, MK took only 1%, behind not only the seat winners, Greens and Labour, but also the BNP, Pensioners Party, English Democrats and Christian Party.
I assumed thats what you meant originally – there was no way MK could have outpolled Labour in the entire region.
I’m looking forward to seeing the detailed results for the SE and SW because Labour must have gone below 5% in a fair number of districts given they only polled about 8% across the two regions.
Where did you see the results from Plymouth Andy?
Leeds council had a very good site which listed all the results for the Yorkshire region
It was on one of the Labour party live blogs but I’ve closed the window now and can’t remember what the name of it was since I got to it from another site – I think a link from the Guardian blog maybe or Guido. I don’t think it was from Iain Dale. Just did a quick search but couldn’t find it. I’m not sure how reliable it was but I suppose it’s not the sort of thing someone would invent.