Voters go to the polls in Peterborough for European elections

Voting takes place in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire today from 7am to 10pm with the results to be announced on Sunday evening.

Unlike parliamentary elections, where constituents elect a single MP to represent them through the First Past the Post system, European elections are run through a proportional representation system, with parties winning a proportion of the available seats which they fill through a list of candidates they have submitted before the vote.

The candidates are ranked in preference order, so a party winning three seats will select the three candidates at the top of its list.

MEPs represent regions (i.e. the East of England for Peterborough) rather than smaller constituencies.

There are seven seats which are up for grabs, so parties will select up to seven candidates on their lists.

Currently in our region UKIP and the Conservatives both have three MEPs, while Labour has one.

The list of candidates is below in the order they will be selected from the party list:

Change UK: Emma Taylor, Neil Carmichael, Bhavna Joshi, Michelle de Vries, Amanda Gummer, Thomas Graham, Roger Casale.

Conservatives: Geoffrey van Orden, John Flack, Joe Rich, Thomas McLaren, Joel Charles, Wazz Mughal, Thomas Smith.

English Democrats: Robin Tilbrook, Charles Vickers, Bridget Vickers, Paul Wiffen.

Green Party: Catherine Rowett, Rupert Read, Martin Schmierer, Fiona Radic, Paul Jeater, Pallavi Devulapalli, Jeremy Caddick.

Labour Party: Alex Mayer, Chris Vince, Sharon Taylor, Alvin Shum, Anna Smith, Adam Scott, Javeria Hussain.

Liberal Democrats: Barbara Gibson, Lucy Nethsingha, Fionna Tod, Stephen Robinson, Sandy Walkington, Marie Goldman, Jules Ewart.

The Brexit Party: Richard Tice, Michael Heaver, June Mummery, Paul Hearn, Priscilla Huby, Sean Lever, Edmund Fordham.

UKIP: Stuart Agnew, Paul Oakley, Elizabeth Jones, William Ashpole, Alan Graves, John Wallace, John Whitby.

Independent candidates: Attila Csordas.