By CIARAN SNEDDON

 

93 per cent of the British public do not know who their MEP is, according to a YouGov poll.

 

The survey comes just weeks before voters will take to the ballot boxes in the European elections across the continent.

 

In the same poll, 68 per cent of the public did not even know when the vote was due to take place, which is expected to be reflected in a continuing trend of low turnouts at European elections.

 

The 2009 voter turnout for the EU parliament was 34.7 per cent, approximately 10 per cent below the average of the rest of Europe.

 

Catherine Stihler, current Scottish Labour MEP, feels the lack of media coverage causes the public’s disinterest in the European parliament.

 

“MEPs in Scotland have the whole country to cover and over five million constituents to represent. With being abroad part of the week it is hard to raise a profile in all areas of the country. And sadly, no Scottish news outlet covers any of the good work which we do in the European Parliament on a daily basis.”

 

Andrew Brons, a former-BNP MEP who is now a member of the British Democratic Party, said there is a lack of knowledge regarding the EU.

 

“There seems to be a belief that there is a single MEP for each constituency, when there are between three and eight representing multi-member constituencies. Even this basic fact is not explained to the electorate by the media.

 

“The media will provide headlines about a Commission proposal but no coverage is given to proceedings in the European Parliament or to the work of individual MEPs. To earn publicity, it would be necessary to make inane comments in the House, such as when Godfrey Bloom accused the then president of the Socialist group of being ‘an undemocratic fascist' - as distinct from a democratic one? - or when the same MEP called women in his UKIP audience 'sluts' for failing to clean behind the refrigerator.”

 

Ukip appears to be the only party to have successfully raised a European profile. This is reflected in UK polls which suggest that Ukip could take 30 per cent of the vote in May’s election, almost double its share in 2009. This would give the party the highest number of MEPs in its history, and would make it a real force in the European parliament.

 

However, while Ukip has been successful in gathering media attention, the headlines it attracts have often been controversial in nature.

 

A recent poll suggests that 27 per cent of the population believe the party has "racist views" and "many racist members" while 35 per cent thought the party did "seem to attract some candidates or supporters with racist, extreme or odd views".

Ukip has found success with its anti-European stance, which has led to the Conservative party pledging to hold an in-out referendum on the EU if they are re-elected next year.

 

Ukip isn’t the only party that supports the breakup of the European Union, however, with over 30 per cent of MEPs elected in the upcoming elections expected to be anti-EU, according to reports by think tank Open Europe. This is in comparison to 2009’s election where only 24.9 per cent were standing on an anti-European platform.

The Liberal Democrats have strongly condemned the anti-Europe moves by the Conservatives and Ukip, with party leader Nick Clegg appearing on several debates with Ukip leader Nigel Farage on the issue.

 

George Lyon, a Scottish Lib Dem MEP, said his party was the only one protecting the union.

 

“The Tories and Ukip are putting millions of British jobs at risk and jeopardising billions of pounds of investment by undermining our membership of the EU through their Eurosceptic obsession. Their anti-EU ideology has gone so far that they have gone soft on crime. Liberal Democrats in government stop them from pulling Britain out of key crime fighting tools such as the European Arrest Warrant that are crucial in combatting criminal gangs, terrorists and paedophiles.

 

“Ukip MEPs are among the laziest in the EU and they do not stand up for Britain in Europe when it counts.”

 

Despite his support of the union, George Lyon admits that some changes need to be made.

 

“It is going to change because it is in a state of challenge and flux and so need reform. It must be more competitive, more open, leaner and less bureaucratic. These are all things Britain should lead on and work constructively with our European partners to achieve.

 

“Leaving the EU now would be a calamitous mistake for the country – it would make us poorer, less safe and jeopardise millions of jobs.”

 

The European elections will take place on the 22 May.