With growing skepticism over whether the island nation should integrate further with Europe, the voters are particularly divided over the prospect of Britain-EU relations.
A total of 73 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are up for grabs in Britain based on the proportional representation voting mechanism, with citizens being asked to vote for a party rather than an individual.
The UK Independence Party (UKIP), a Eurosceptic right-wing political party, and the opposition Labor Party have topped the latest opinion polls alternately, indicating the biggest odds of winning the elections, followed by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.
"I don't like anything to do with Europe," said A. Ladsky, an 87-year-old retired lawyer who supported the UKIP, adding that"I'd like to get rid of Europe and get out of Europe. We are big enough to stand on our own feet. We don't need Europe. Europe needs us more than we need them."
Kenneth Alaka, a 53-year-old social worker, said he has always voted for the Labor Party since 1997 because they carried out the reforms which he needed, particularly the national minimum wage policy.
Unlike Ladsky, Alaka is in favor of more British integration into Europe, warning that "Britain's withdrawal from the European Union will be a disaster."
"You can't withdraw from Europe now. Europe is good for the British economy and business. There is a big market in Europe. It's good for Britain to be in Europe and be a leader in Europe," he said.
"UKIP is like a one-issue party, and only talks about immigration," he added. "If you ask any UKIP leader, they don't know the health policy, and they don't know the education policy...for the country."
The elections, conducted in 12 electoral regions across Britain, employ the single transferable vote system in Northern Ireland and the regional party list proportional representation system in the rest of the country.
Dozens of political parties, including the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, the Labor Party and the UKIP, are vying for a bigger share of the vote in Britain on Thursday.
Voters are asked to cast the ballot at between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. at one of the polling stations nearest to them.
Results of the elections are scheduled to be announced on Sunday, when voting is closed across the 28 member states of the European Union. Britain and the Netherlands are the first two countries to start the European Parliament elections this year.
Source:Xinhua Published: 2014-5-23 9:51:56
[globaltimes.cn]
23/5/14
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