East Midlands (European Parliament constituency)
East Midlands was an English constituency of the European Parliament in the United Kingdom. Established in 1999 with six members to replace single-member districts. Between 2009 and until the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU on 31 January 2020 it returned five MEPs, elected using the D'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.
Boundaries
The constituency corresponded to the East Midlands region of England, comprising the counties of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire.History
The constituency was organised as a result of the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999, replacing a number of single-member constituencies. These were Leicester, Northamptonshire and Blaby, Nottingham and Leicestershire North West, Nottinghamshire North and Chesterfield, and parts of Lincolnshire and Humberside South, Peak District, and Staffordshire East and Derby.| MEPs for former East Midlands constituencies, 1979 – 1999 | MEPs for former East Midlands constituencies, 1979 – 1999 | MEPs for former East Midlands constituencies, 1979 – 1999 | MEPs for former East Midlands constituencies, 1979 – 1999 | MEPs for former East Midlands constituencies, 1979 – 1999 | MEPs for former East Midlands constituencies, 1979 – 1999 | MEPs for former East Midlands constituencies, 1979 – 1999 | MEPs for former East Midlands constituencies, 1979 – 1999 | MEPs for former East Midlands constituencies, 1979 – 1999 | MEPs for former East Midlands constituencies, 1979 – 1999 | - | - |
| Election | 1979 – 1984 | 1984 – 1989 | 1989 – 1994 | 1994 – 1999 | - | - | |||||
| Derbyshire | Tom Spencer Conservative | Geoff Hoon Labour | Geoff Hoon Labour | Geoff Hoon Labour | Seat abolished | Seat abolished | Seat abolished | Seat abolished | |||
| Leicester | Frederick Tuckman Conservative | Frederick Tuckman Conservative | Frederick Tuckman Conservative | Mel Read Labour | Susan Waddington Labour | - | - | ||||
| Lincolnshire Lincolnshire and Humberside South | Bill Newton Dunn Conservative | Bill Newton Dunn Conservative | Bill Newton Dunn Conservative | Bill Newton Dunn Conservative | Bill Newton Dunn Conservative | Veronica Hardstaff Labour | - | - | |||
| Northamptonshire Northamptonshire and Blaby | Anthony Simpson Conservative | Anthony Simpson Conservative | Anthony Simpson Conservative | Anthony Simpson Conservative | Anthony Simpson Conservative | Angela Billingham Labour | - | - | |||
| Nottingham Nottingham and Leicestershire North West | Michael Gallagher Labour SDP | Michael Kilby Conservative | Ken Coates Labour | Mel Read Labour | - | - | |||||
| Nottinghamshire North and Chesterfield | Seat not established | Seat not established | Seat not established | Seat not established | Seat not established | Seat not established | Ken Coates Labour | - | - | ||
| Peak District | Seat not established | Seat not established | Seat not established | Seat not established | Seat not established | Seat not established | Arlene McCarthy Labour | - | - | ||
| Staffordshire East and Derby | Staffordshire East in West Midlands | Staffordshire East in West Midlands | Staffordshire East in West Midlands | Staffordshire East in West Midlands | Staffordshire East in West Midlands | Staffordshire East in West Midlands | Phillip Whitehead Labour | - | - |
Returned members
Notes:- 1 Roger Helmer announced on 12 October 2011 his intention to stand down from the European Parliament. After uncertainty whether his place would be taken by the next person on the Conservative Party's list for the East Midlands region, he defected to UKIP and completed his term as MEP.
Complaint against Kilroy-Silk
"He seems to have done little or no work as a constituency MEP for the East Midlands. This leaves five MEPs to do the work of six and the electorate have been short-changed". They complained that Kilroy-Silk was not "fulfilling the pledge he made on becoming an MEP, to serve the electorate of his region" and to call for him to "either do the job for which he is paid, or get out and leave it to those who can."
The parliament has no power to remove Mr Kilroy-Silk, who is understood to have attended the minimum number of plenary sessions required to be eligible for his parliamentary allowances. Such a complaint was unprecedented. Kilroy-Silk refused to comment on it. The European Parliament does not have any power to expel a member, and Borrell took no action.