There were two halves to the line up this time around. The first was the previous track record of the parties involved. I've heard some people talk quite vehemently on separating national from European politics, but I just cannot. A party must be held to the same level of accountability regardless of the process for which it is involved with.
The second of course are the manifestos of the parties, and the beliefs and commitments that they will be taking to the European parliament.
The combination of these two factors was unfortunately for me, incompatible. Labour offered me most compatibility with the messages they would be taking to Europe, however I simply cannot bring myself to vote Labour, however like-minded they may be.
The choices were then whittled down to the Liberal Democrats and Libertas. Libertas was most compatible, but their inception brings them into question as a viable candidate. Libertas successfully campaigned in Ireland for the rejection of the Treaty of Lisbon which could be considered a major setback in the future of the EU.
I'm not too worried either way with the treaty. As far as I can gather, it seeks to decentralise power in granting smaller states seats more proportionately. This would have to be seen as a good thing, even if it did take power away from the UK MEPs.
My main concern is that they are a single issue party, and will be unable to break away from this one victory. They still lack a position on some pretty major issues such as the support of the single European currency. Additionally I am uncertain as to how much investment they have in key issues such as national referenda and business issues.
On that basis I'm pulled from Libertas until they can prove themselves as a viable policy driven party... which leaves the Liberal Democrats.
On the surface they seem the ideal choice, but for one caveat... their support of a referendum on EU membership. In the UK this could be seriously damaging. The UK being an insular and independent country at its core, would make a membership vote a close call. It is my strong belief that we need to command an integral position within the EU and that both Europe and the UK are recepriocally stronger for the partnership.
As you can imagine, it made voting exceptionally difficult and the final point made me revisit my Labour and Liberatas choices more closely. In the end, it became clear in the fact that the European arm Lib Dems could not command a referendum and therefore the potential for damage is limited. I am afraid however that this issue will rear its head again for the general elections.
To aid my decision making I used two interactive sources along with regular research; firstly Vote Match Europe, which compiles a compatibility list (see below) of your views alongside the various parties. I also used The Political Compass site to determine my position on the political spectrum. It should be noted that these are general guides, and should not be treated as a primary method of voting... they should be used alongside specific party and candidate research.
The political compass information below shows my affinity to the liberal right (just), which puts me more in line with the Lib Dem way of thinking.
This provided a general template, however it should also be remembered that Liberatas are not featured on the compass. I believe they would sit closely to the Lib Dems, especially in the light of the Vote Match response which was as follows:
Results:
| Party | Match |
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|---|---|---|
| Labour Party |
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| Liberal Democrats |
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| Libertas |
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| Green Party |
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| Conservative Party |
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| UK Independence Party |
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Compare your responses:
| Statement | You | Labour Party | Liberal Democrats | Libertas | Green Party | Conservative Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The EU should prohibit national governments from imposing a mandatory retirement age on workers. | Disagree | Disagree | Disagree | Disagree | Agree | Agree |
| 2 | EU subsidies on agricultural production should be focused on small scale, non-intensive methods. | Open | Open | Agree | Agree | Agree | Agree |
| 3 | The EU should significantly reduce the amount it spends on agricultural production subsidies. | Open | Open | Agree | Agree | Agree | Agree |
| 4 | Medical experiments on animals should be banned across the EU. | Agree | Disagree | Disagree | Disagree | Agree | Disagree |
| 5 | The UK is more prosperous as a result of membership of the EU. | Agree | Agree | Agree | Agree | Open | Agree |
| 6 | The UK should hold a referendum on whether it should remain a member of the European Union. (Important) | Disagree | Disagree | Agree | Disagree | Open | Disagree |
| 7 | All future EU Treaties should be subject to a referendum in the UK. (Important) | Disagree | Disagree | Disagree | Agree | Agree | Agree |
| 8 | The EU should stop internet service providers from limiting their customers' access to websites and applications for commercial reasons. (Important) | Agree | Disagree | Open | Agree | Agree | Open |
| 9 | The EU should not introduce new employment and business regulation for the duration of the recession. | Disagree | Disagree | Disagree | Agree | Disagree | Open |
| 10 | The European Union poses a threat to individual national cultures. (Unimportant) | Disagree | Disagree | Disagree | Disagree | Open | Disagree |
| 11 | In a recession, national governments should have the freedom to subsidise their own businesses. | Agree | Open | Disagree | Open | Agree | Disagree |
| 12 | All EU citizens should be free to work anywhere in the EU. (Important) | Agree | Agree | Agree | Agree | Agree | Agree |
| 13 | Allowing workers to work more than 48 hours a week, even voluntarily, is open to abuse by employers | Disagree | Disagree | Disagree | Open | Agree | Disagree |
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14 | EU countries will have to make much greater use of nuclear power if we are to significantly reduce carbon emissions. (Important) | Agree | Agree | Disagree | Agree | Disagree | Disagree |
| 15 | EU Member States must not be allowed to meet their carbon reduction goals by buying reductions from other countries. | Open | Disagree | Agree | Agree | Agree | Disagree |
| 16 | The EU should introduce strict environmental building regulations on all new housing. | Agree | Disagree | Agree | Disagree | Agree | Disagree |
| 17 | The greenhouse gas emissions of cattle should be considered in all policies designed to tackle climate change. | Open | Open | Agree | Disagree | Agree | Disagree |
| 18 | Half of the members of the European Commission should be women. | Disagree | Open | Open | Open | Agree | Disagree |
| 19 | Turkey should be blocked from joining the EU. | Open | Disagree | Disagree | Disagree | Disagree | Disagree |
| 20 | The President of the European Commission should be elected by the European Parliament. | Agree | Open | Agree | Disagree | Agree | Disagree |
| 21 | The credit crunch was caused by over-regulation of the financial sector. (Unimportant) | Disagree | Disagree | Disagree | Disagree | Disagree | Disagree |
| 22 | The EU should increase subsidies to poorer regions of the EU. | Agree | Open | Disagree | Agree | Agree | Disagree |
| 23 | The UK should join the European single currency (Euro). (Important) | Agree | Agree | Agree | Open | Disagree | Disagree |
| 24 | The EU should return control of fisheries to national governments. (Unimportant) | Disagree | Disagree | Disagree | Disagree | Agree | Agree |
| 25 | The EU should play a greater role in coordinating peacekeeping missions. | Agree | Agree | Agree | Open | Disagree | Agree |
| 26 | Extending the period of copyright protection on sound recordings from 50 years will predominantly benefit music companies and work against the interests of consumers. (Unimportant) | Disagree | Disagree | Disagree | Agree | Agree | Disagree |
| 27 | The EU and its member states should not cut overseas development aid because of the financial crisis | Open | Agree | Agree | Open | Agree | Agree |
| 28 | EU countries must agree standard rules on the recognition of qualifications. | Agree | Disagree | Agree | Agree | Open | Disagree |
| 29 | The EU should make it possible for any EU citizen go to any hospital in the EU and have the doctor treating them able to access their health records instantly. (Important) | Agree | Open | Open | Open | Agree | Disagree |
| 30 | The EU has too many restrictions on imports. | Disagree | Disagree | Open | Agree | Disagree | Agree |
| Total Score: | 48/64 | 44/64 | 42/64 | 40/64 | 29/64 | ||
Vote Match © Unlock Democracy A: 6 Cynthia Street, London N1 9JF T: 020 7278 4443 E: info@votematch.co.uk
It worries me that the European elections are given such little focus in the UK, and that so much apathy is shown towards them. Regardless of our beliefs in parties of this country, these MEPs are representing us on a continental scale... and affecting the very future of Europe as we know it... to this apathy is simply not a viable option. A decision is demanded of you as both a citizen of the UK and of Europe.
