From @Komodo and @Techdread's Time for Decision:
The 1974 European Parliament elections were the first European elections that would allow the electorates of the nine member states, also making it the first-ever international election in history. Whilst direct elections to the European Parliament had been legislated under the Treaty of Rome (1957), it would take external pressure from President of the European Commission Patrick Hillery, national leaders (notably British prime minister Roy Jenkins), and threatened legal action from the then-appointed European Parliament to provoke the EEC Council to holding elections sooner rather than later.
Although pressure had been applied to force the long-awaited elections, there was little appetite for them amongst the populations of the member states themselves. A general apathy amongst the electorates would make much the campaign little more than referendums on the incumbent governments and seemed to serve as indicators of how the next national election would fare within each nation.
With a breadth of half a continent, the organisation of multiple political parties into united organisations was no easy task. Already within the European Parliament, the appointed MEPs sat in groupings that were often broad churches: the European left was largely united into the Socialist Group, with the exception of the far-left in the Communists and Allies, the Liberal and Democrats Group was equally cohesive, whilst the right was split between the pro-European Christian Democratic Group, the French-dominated European Progressive Democrats, and the new but wary members in the European Conservatives.
Despite the long-awaited decision to hold direct elections to the Parliament, there was no united decision over the method of voting across the member states; whilst most would use forms of proportional representation, the United Kingdom used plurality voting as it did in its own national elections. As could be expected from a largely PR-based voting system, no majority was produced from the election, but it was a clear victory for the Socialist Group as they took almost a third of the popular vote across the EEC and held 130 of the 410 seats in the European Parliament. Relying upon the support of the Liberal Group and the Communists and Allies, the European Parliament had a distinctly left-of-centre view during the 1970s.
The Liberal Group saw its candidate, French Reforming Movement MEP René Monory, elected as European Parliament President with support from the Socialists in a mutual deal over the appointment of the European Commission President that would take place in 1977. The European Parliament President, whilst important within the EEC, is primarily the role of a speaker within the parliament, whilst the President of the European Commission functioned as ‘prime minister of Europe’. Former German vice chancellor Willy Brandt appointment as European Commission President in 1977 oversaw closer economic integration of the EEC, an opening of relations with the Eastern Bloc, and greater international standing following Brandt’s invitation to attend the 1977 G8 Summit.
Although pressure had been applied to force the long-awaited elections, there was little appetite for them amongst the populations of the member states themselves. A general apathy amongst the electorates would make much the campaign little more than referendums on the incumbent governments and seemed to serve as indicators of how the next national election would fare within each nation.
With a breadth of half a continent, the organisation of multiple political parties into united organisations was no easy task. Already within the European Parliament, the appointed MEPs sat in groupings that were often broad churches: the European left was largely united into the Socialist Group, with the exception of the far-left in the Communists and Allies, the Liberal and Democrats Group was equally cohesive, whilst the right was split between the pro-European Christian Democratic Group, the French-dominated European Progressive Democrats, and the new but wary members in the European Conservatives.
Despite the long-awaited decision to hold direct elections to the Parliament, there was no united decision over the method of voting across the member states; whilst most would use forms of proportional representation, the United Kingdom used plurality voting as it did in its own national elections. As could be expected from a largely PR-based voting system, no majority was produced from the election, but it was a clear victory for the Socialist Group as they took almost a third of the popular vote across the EEC and held 130 of the 410 seats in the European Parliament. Relying upon the support of the Liberal Group and the Communists and Allies, the European Parliament had a distinctly left-of-centre view during the 1970s.
The Liberal Group saw its candidate, French Reforming Movement MEP René Monory, elected as European Parliament President with support from the Socialists in a mutual deal over the appointment of the European Commission President that would take place in 1977. The European Parliament President, whilst important within the EEC, is primarily the role of a speaker within the parliament, whilst the President of the European Commission functioned as ‘prime minister of Europe’. Former German vice chancellor Willy Brandt appointment as European Commission President in 1977 oversaw closer economic integration of the EEC, an opening of relations with the Eastern Bloc, and greater international standing following Brandt’s invitation to attend the 1977 G8 Summit.
In the UK, the results were a sign of changing times. Despite being taken into the European Community by Labour under Harold Wilson, a policy that was carefully managed by Roy Jenkins as Foreign Secretary at the time, the country was already undergoing a shift. Just as in other countries, the informal referendum of the government through the ballot box to Brussels had shown that Britons were tired of Labour. Keith Joseph’s Conservatives should have been secure in achieving a clear majority of the seats and votes, but the results showed a dead-hear between the two dominant parties with a strong performance from Jeremy Thorpe’s Liberals; had the results been replicated into a general election, it would have produced a hung parliament with a strong Liberal presence as kingmaker.
However, whilst the result may have attracted the attention of politicians and the press, there was little enthusiasm among the public; the turnout amongst the UK population for the 1974 European election was under a third of the electorate and apathy was still strong through the nation. It may have been a warning cry for the Jenkins government, but it also served as a warning for the Tories that they could not rely solely on voter apathy to win the next election. It also served as the watermark for Thorpe’s time as Liberal Party leader; expectations of an equally strong performance in the general election were dashed and it wasn’t long afterwards that Thorpe himself fell from grace in the Thorpe Affair.
The British involvement in Europe was still uncertain; reluctance and hostility remained strong throughout Westminster with MPs on both sides calling for a British departure from the EEC. Only the Liberal Party was seemingly united on British membership and those voices of disagreement with their party’s leaderships were growing strong. Uncertainty and political experimentation were becoming synonymous for British politics in the 1970s. The 1975 general election compounded these.
However, whilst the result may have attracted the attention of politicians and the press, there was little enthusiasm among the public; the turnout amongst the UK population for the 1974 European election was under a third of the electorate and apathy was still strong through the nation. It may have been a warning cry for the Jenkins government, but it also served as a warning for the Tories that they could not rely solely on voter apathy to win the next election. It also served as the watermark for Thorpe’s time as Liberal Party leader; expectations of an equally strong performance in the general election were dashed and it wasn’t long afterwards that Thorpe himself fell from grace in the Thorpe Affair.
The British involvement in Europe was still uncertain; reluctance and hostility remained strong throughout Westminster with MPs on both sides calling for a British departure from the EEC. Only the Liberal Party was seemingly united on British membership and those voices of disagreement with their party’s leaderships were growing strong. Uncertainty and political experimentation were becoming synonymous for British politics in the 1970s. The 1975 general election compounded these.
