VOTERS in North Yorkshire who go to the polls today for the European Parliament elections have a choice of nine parties when they cast their ballots.

Polling stations open across the country between 7am and 10pm today.

Twenty authorities are part of the Yorkshire and Humber region, which has six seats available.

There are 52 candidates standing in the region, for nine parties: Change UK - The Independent Group, Conservative and Unionist Party, English Democrats, Green Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, The Brexit Party, The Yorkshire Party and UKIP.

The candidates in full are:

  • Change UK - The Independent Group: Diana Paulette Wallis, Juliet Lodge, Sophia Bow, Joshua Paul Malkin, Rosanne Clare McMullen, Steven Wilson
  • Conservative and Unionist Party: John Michael Procter, Amjad Bashir, Michael James Naughton, Andrew Lee, Matthew Graham Freckleton, Sue Pascoe
  • English Democrats: David Stewart Allen, Tony Stewart Allen, Joanne Allen, Fiona Allen
  • Green Party: Magid Magid, Alison Clare Teal, Andrew Varah Cooper, Louise Houghton, Lars Martin Kramm, Ann Christine Forsaith
  • Labour Party: Richard Graham Corbett, Eloise Karen Todd, Mohammed Jawad Afzal Khan, Jayne Marie Allport, Martin Trevor Mayer, Alison Louise Hume
  • Liberal Democrats: Shaffaq Mohammed, Rosina Jane Robson, James Christopher Blanchard, Sophie Jane Thornton, James Douglas Baker, Ruth Christine Coleman-Taylor
  • The Brexit Party: John Longworth, Lucy Elizabeth Harris, Jake Pugh, James Rupert Heartfield, Andrew Allison, Christopher Barker
  • The Yorkshire Party: Chris Whitwood, Mike Jordan, Jack Carrington, Laura Marie Walker, Bob Buxton, Dan Cochran
  • UKIP: Mike Hookem, Gary Colin Shores, John Robert Hancock, David Alan Dews, Graeme Boyd Waddicar, Clifford Parsons

Unlike the first-past-the-post system used in general elections, the European votes use a form of proportional representation known as the D’Hondt system, in which voters choose a single party and the number of elected candidates from each party’s list depends upon the proportion of votes cast.

Recent polling of more than 7,000 adults by YouGov suggested The Brexit Party could take the largest number of votes on Thursday - about 35 per cent - followed by the Liberal Democrats and Labour with 16 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.