Wrexham quietly gears up for European Parliamentary elections

Residents across Wrexham could be off to the polls next month to cast their votes in the European Parliamentary Election.

Yesterday we could not spot any mention of the European Parliamentary elections in Wrexham, so walked to the Guildhall where notices are traditionally bluetacked in the window – and spotted the above/below.

The notice has subsequently been published on the Wrexham Council website.

Although there is still uncertainty as to whether the United Kingdom will take part in the elections and vote for their new MEPs legally local authorities across the UK have been required to publish the notices and get preparations underway.

Unlike the General and Welsh Assembly Elections which sees the likes of Wrexham vote for representatives just for the local area, the European Parliamentary Election is a Wales-wide vote for four MEPs.

There are 73 MEPs voted for across the UK, however the four elected by voters in Wales back in 2014 are household names:

– Derek Vaughan
– Nathan Gill
– Dr Kay Swinburne
– Jill Evans

The last European Parliamentary Election back in 2014 saw a very low turnout of just 29,626 of registered voters in Wrexham going to the polls.

It was a similar situation across Wales, which had an overall turnout of 32 per cent.

We have contacted Wrexham Council to find out what preparations it has made for the elections and the number of people registered to vote in Wrexham.

Although we have yet to receive a reply, we are aware that messages have gone out to some locations (eg playgroups, community centres etc) advising them that the space will be required next month for use as a polling station and bookings have been made.

If you are a European Union citizen from a country other than the UK, Republic of Ireland, Malta or Cyprus you will need to register separately to vote at a European Parliamentary election in the UK.

Key dates:

Deadline to register to vote: Tuesday, 7 May 2019
http://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

Deadline to apply for a postal vote: 5pm Wednesday, 8 May 2019
https://www.yourvotematters.co.uk/how-do-i-vote/voting-by-post

Deadline to apply for a proxy vote: 5pm Wednesday, 15 May 2019
https://www.yourvotematters.co.uk/how-do-i-vote/voting-by-proxy

Election day Thursday, 23 May 2019 !