Europe heads to the polling booths

|PIC1|The British public headed to the polling booths on Thursday on the first day of voting in the largest trans-national election in history.

Voting will for the European Parliament election will take place across 27 EU member states until Sunday, with the UK and the Netherlands voting on Thursday.

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York were among church leaders urging people not to let extremist parties like the BNP gain new ground by protest voting or abstaining.

"Christians have been deeply disturbed by the conscious adoption by the BNP of the language of our faith when the effect of those policies is not to promote those values but to foster fear and division within communities, especially between people of different faiths or racial background,” they said.

"This is not a moment for voting in favour of any political party whose core ideology is about sowing division in our communities and hostility on grounds of race, creed or colour; it is an opportunity for renewing the vision of a community united by mutual respect, high ethical standards and the pursuit of justice and peace.”

The Merseyside Council of Faiths, meanwhile, urged people to vote for candidates who promote harmony, partnership and justice.

“People have strived for generations for the right to vote in the United Kingdom and we believe that everyone has a moral responsibility to vote – apathy is not an option for any of us,” it said in a statement.

A recent Premier Radio poll found that over three quarters of Christians are likely to vote in the elections. Seventy-seven per cent of UK Christians polled said they were very likely or fairly likely to be voting at the European Parliament elections, with independent Christians leading the denominations of active voters at 87 per cent, followed by Baptists at 83 per cent and Anglicans at 81 per cent.

"On the fourth of June, UK voters in the 12 EU constituencies will have the chance to elect 72 MEPs representing a range of political group, including a Christian assembly," Premier Christian Media's CEO, Peter Kerridge commented.

"I'm calling on all Christians to go out and vote this June. The European Parliament passes legislation on a wide range of issues from the reduction of CO2 emissions to managing immigration, whoever you decide to vote for, it's essential we make our voices heard as Christians in Europe."

Christian political advocacy group CARE urged people not to overlook the importance of voting in the elections. Nola Leach, CARE’s Head of Public Affairs said that while the European Parliament used to be a talking shop with only a consultative role, treaties like Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice had since transferred to it new responsibilities.

"Today it is a very influential body in the development of European legislation which has very significant implications for all our lives. It is vital that Christians discharge their civic ‘salt and light’ responsibilities by voting on Thursday,” she said.

David Fieldsend, CARE’s representative in Brussels, added, "The vast majority of European legislation now requires the agreement of the European Parliament. This then goes on to set the limits within which Westminster is allowed to legislate. I cannot over emphasise the importance of these elections for future law and policy in the UK."