The European Parliament is the only directly elected body in the European Union. The parliament plays a major role in the EU's decision-making process. Members of the parliament belong to one of seven political groupings which cover the political spectrum. The 2004- 2009 parliament was composed of 785 members. In the 2004- 2009 session the UK was represented by 78 MEPs, with 72 from 2009. Elections take place every five years. Across Europe, voters are asked to elect members in accordance with the Treaty of Lisbon.
The United Kingdom is divided into 12 European Parliament constituencies. Information on the results of European Parliament elections by country is available, with further details for the UK, including candidate lists, from the UK Office of the European Parliament website.
Symposium on European Elections
To mark the elections, the Library held a one day symposium on Tuesday 9 June to showcase recent research and resources. You can listen to presentations and see slides from the symposium on our web pages.
Web archiving
The Library has collected campaign and related websites to keep a record of the elections.This includes UK candidates websites and the sites of political parties and interest groups. We have worked in collaboration with colleagues in other national libraries to exchange collection development and technical expertise and best practice. You can find out more about our experiences from the presentations in our symposium.
The collection can be viewed from the UK Web Archive web pages.
Further reading
The Times Guide to the European Parliament, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994
Social Science Reading Room (London) shelfmark: OPL 328.4 (for 1984- 1994)
Document Supply shelfmark: X22/1102 (for 1979)
Jean Blondel, People and parliament in the European Union: participation, democracy and legitimacy, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998
London Reference Collections shelfmark: YC.1999.a.835
Document Supply shelfmark: 98/22532
Wouter van der Brug & Cees van der Eijk (ed.s), European elections and domestic politics: lessons from the past and scenarios for the future, Indiana: University of Notre Dame press, 2007
London Reference Collections shelfmark: YC.2009.a.925
Document Supply shelfmark: m07/.34765
David Butler & Martin Westlake, British Politics and European Elections 2004, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005
Social Science Reading Room (London) shelfmark: SPIS 324.940561
Chris Cook & Mary Francis, The First European Elections: A Handbook and Guide, London: Macmillan, 1979
Social Science Reading Room (London) shelfmark: OPL 329.0234
Document Supply shelfmark: 85/31773
Richard Corbett, Francis Jacobs & Michael Shakleton, The European Parliament (7th edition), London: John Harper, 2007
Social Science Reading Room (London) shelfmark: SPIS 341.2424
Yves Déloy & Michael Bruter, Encyclopedia of European Elections, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007
Social Science Reading Room (London) shelfmark: OPL 324.4
Document Supply shelfmark: Q324.6094
Cees van der Eijk & Mark Franklin, Choosing Europe? The European electorate and national politics in the face of union, Ann Arbor: Univesrity of Michigan Press, 1996
London Reference Collections shelfmark: YC.2001.a.2359
Document Supply shelfmark: 96/20060
Simon Hix and Christopher Lord, Political parties in the European Union, London: Macmillan, 1997
London Reference Collections shelfmark: YC.2001.a.601
Document Supply shelfmark: 98/09924
Juliet Lodge (ed.), Direct Elections to the European Parliament 1984, Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1986
Social Science Reading Room (London) shelfmark: OPL 329.0234
Document Supply shelfmark: 86/05349
Karlheinz Reif (ed.), Ten European Elections: Campaigns and Results of the 1979/81 First Direct Elections to the European Parliament, Aldershot: Gower, 1985
Social Science Reading Room (London) shelfmark: OPL 329.0234
Document Supply shelfmark: 85/01974
Jeremy Richardson (ed.), European Union: Power and Policy Making (3rd edition), Abingdon: Routledge, 2006
Social Science Reading Room (London) shelfmark: SPIS 341.2422
Document Supply shelfmark: m05/.40992
Hermann Schmitt & Jacques Thomassen, Political representation and legitimacy in the European Union, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999
London Reference Collections shelfmark: YC.2002.a.9025
Document Supply shelfmark: m00/18905
Julie Smith, Europe's elected parliament, Sheffield: Sheffield University Press, 1999
London Refernce Collections shelfmark: YC.2002.a.9200
Document Supply shelfmark: 3425.181780 5
Further information
Social Sciences Reference Service
The British Library
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London
NW1 2DB
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7412 7894
Fax: +44 (0)20 7412 7761
E-mail: Ask the Reference Team
