East Midlands was a constituency of the European Parliament in the United Kingdom, established in 1999 with six members to replace single-member constituencies. Between 2009 and 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.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan = 10 | MEPs for former East Midlands constituencies, 1979 – 1999
|-
! Election
! style="width:1px;"|
! 1979 – 1984
! style="width:1px;"|
! 1984 – 1989
! style="width:1px;"|
! 1989 – 1994
! style="width:1px;"|
! 1994 – 1999
! style="width:1px;"|
|-
| Derbyshire <small>(1979–1994)</small>
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| Tom Spencer<br />Conservative
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| colspan = 3 | Geoff Hoon<br />Labour
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
! colspan = 4 | Seat abolished
|-
| Leicester
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| colspan = 3 | Frederick Tuckman<br />Conservative
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| Mel Read<br />Labour
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| Susan Waddington<br />Labour
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
|-
| Lincolnshire <small>(1979–1994)</small><br />Lincolnshire and Humberside South <small>(1994–1999)</small>
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| colspan = 5 | Bill Newton Dunn<br />Conservative
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| Veronica Hardstaff<br />Labour
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
|-
| Northamptonshire <small>(1979–1994)</small><br />Northamptonshire and Blaby <small>(1994–1999)</small>
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| colspan = 5 | Anthony Simpson<br />Conservative
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| Angela Billingham<br />Labour
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
|-
| Nottingham <small>(1979–1994)</small><br />Nottingham and Leicestershire North West <small>(1994–1999)</small>
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| Michael Gallagher<br />Labour (1979–1984)<br />SDP (1984)
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| Michael Kilby<br />Conservative
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| Ken Coates<br />Labour
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| Mel Read<br />Labour
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
|-
| Nottinghamshire North and Chesterfield <small>(1994–1999)</small>
! colspan = 6 | Seat not established
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| Ken Coates<br />Labour
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
|-
| Peak District <small>(1994–1999)</small>
! colspan = 6 | Seat not established
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| Arlene McCarthy<br />Labour
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
|-
| Staffordshire East and Derby <small>(1994–1999)</small>
! colspan = 6 | Staffordshire East in West Midlands
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| Phillip Whitehead<br />Labour
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
|}
Returned members
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan = 17| MEPs for the East Midlands, 1999 onwards
|-
! Election
| style="width:1px;"|
|
| style="width:1px;"|
|
| style="width:1px;"|
|
| style="width:1px;"|
|
| style="width:1px;"|
| colspan = 1 |
| style="width:1px;"|
| colspan = 1 |
| style="width:1px;"|
|
| style="width:1px;"|
|-
! MEP<br />Party
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| colspan = 3 | Phillip Whitehead<br />Labour
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| colspan = 3 | Glenis Willmott<br />Labour
| width=2px style="background-color: " |
| colspan = 5 |Rory Palmer<br/>Labour
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
|-
! MEP<br />Party
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| Mel Read<br />Labour
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| colspan = 3 | Derek Clark<br />UKIP
| width=2px style="background-color: " |
| colspan = 5 | Margot Parker<br />UKIP (2014–19)<br>Brexit Party (2019)
| width=2px style="background-color: " |
| Annunziata Rees-Mogg<br>Brexit Party (2019)<br>Independent (2019–20)<br> Conservative (2020–21)
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
|-
! MEP<br />Party
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| colspan = 9 | Roger Helmer<br />Conservative (1999–2012)<br/>UKIP (2012–2017)
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| colspan = 3 | Jonathan Bullock<br />UKIP (2017–2018) <br> Independent (2018) <br> Brexit Party (2019–21)
|width=1px style="background-color: " |
|-
! MEP<br />Party
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| colspan = 3 | Chris Heaton-Harris<br />Conservative
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| colspan = 7 | Emma McClarkin<br />Conservative
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| Matthew Patten<br>Brexit Party
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
|-
! | MEP<br />Party
| width=1px height=25px style="background-color: " |
| colspan = 5| Bill Newton Dunn<br />Conservative (1999–2000)<br />Liberal Democrat (2000–2014)
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
|Andrew Lewer<br />Conservative
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| colspan = 3 | Rupert Matthews<br />Conservative
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| Bill Newton Dunn<br />Liberal Democrat
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
|-
! MEP<br />Party
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
| Nick Clegg<br />Liberal Democrat
| width=1px style="background-color: " |
|| Robert Kilroy-Silk<br />UKIP (2004)<br />Veritas (2004–05)<br />
! colspan = 11 | Seat abolished
|}
Notes:
- <sup>1</sup> 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
In August 2005, four of the MEPs for the region (Clark, Heaton-Harris, Helmer and Whitehead) sent a joint letter to President of the European Parliament Josep Borrell to complain of Kilroy-Silk:
<blockquote>"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."</blockquote>
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.
Election results
Elected candidates are shown in bold. Brackets indicate the number of votes per seat won and order MEPs were elected.
2019
thumb|2019 results
2014
thumb|2014 results
2004
thumb|2004 results
1999
thumb|1999 results