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What's important to you when voting in the European Elections?

Geoff Kendall
re Steve Harper's comments on people "who just can't be bothered to vote": you have to understand that voting in a 'first past the post system' is supporting the process. As Tony Blair pointed out, a vote for any party other than the long-established ones is wasted; any other vote will have NO INFLUENCE WHATSOEVER on policy, even if millions of fellow citizens share your views. You have, at best, a choice of two dictatorships to be ruled by - if the left, or right, wing vote splits you don't even have that. I would vote in the (non FPP) European elections, but as the Commission has the power I really can't see the point of that either. So I go to the poll station, write on the slip that I won't be voting, then leave.

Steve Harper
How depressing that there are people like Ms Edwards who just can't be bothered to vote - I'm interested to see if people would favour a system like Australia, whereby you MUST vote, or you get fined. That way people would be made to take part in the democratic system. You could have a 'none of the above' candidate so that people could still choose to not take part, but at least would register some sort of opinion. People died for our right to vote!

ray ridge
I voted in favour of joining the EEC in 1975 as I thought it was a good idea to ease transport, travel and business connections across Europe.I had no idea and would have voted against if I had known the intention of the EEC was to become a Federal pan-European state interfering with social-judicial-military-foreign policy etc. of the UK. I believe with devolution of the 3 other Union nations there is a very strong case for England to become fully independent and one part of that would be to withdraw asap from the EU.There is no Party that particularly appeals to me and I am very unlikely to vote. A vote for an MEP gives encouragement to a dangerously power-hungry EU and the more people that boycott it the less it can claim a mandate to rule.