VOTERS from Hillingdon will go to the polls on Thursday in the seventh European Parliamentary elections.
The UK's 12 constituencies will in total elect 72 MEPs on a five-year term, with nine of them covering the London region.
Voting in mainland Britain is run on a proportional representation basis, so the larger the share of the citywide vote each political party gains, the higher the number of candidates from their closed preference list win seats.
Fourteen parties with a total of 105 candidates are contesting the election in the capital this time around, together with five independents.
The 732-strong European Parliament represents people living in the 27 member countries of the European Union.
It has powers in a range of areas including animal rights, consumer rights, the environment, international trade, regional economic development and worker's rights.
It also has the power to approve, amend or reject new European laws and it approves the EU budget and new members of the European Commission.
In the last European elections in 2004, London chose three Conservative, three Labour, one Liberal Democrat, one Green Party and one UK Independence Party MEPs.
Out of them, two Tories – Thereas Villiers and John Bowis – and one Labour member, Robert Evans, have decided not to stand for re-election.
Mr Evans, who has special responsibility for 10 boroughs, including Hillingdon, is stepping down after 15 years as an MEP.
Go to http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/public/default_en.htm to find out more.
