VOTERS in York, Selby and North Yorkshire will take to the polls this week to elect members of the European Parliament (MEPs).

On Thursday, polling stations will be open across the country between 7am and 10pm for the European elections.

City of York Council and 20 other authorities are part of the Yorkshire and Humber region, which has six seats available.

There are 52 candidates standing in the region, for a total of nine parties: Change UK - The Independent Group, Conservative and Unionist Party, English Democrats, Green Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, The Brexit Party, The Yorkshire Party and UKIP.

The candidates in full are:

Change UK - The Independent Group: Diana Paulette Wallis, Juliet Lodge, Sophia Bow, Joshua Paul Malkin, Rosanne Clare McMullen, Steven Wilson

Conservative and Unionist Party: John Michael Procter, Amjad Bashir, Michael James Naughton, Andrew Lee, Matthew Graham Freckleton, Sue Pascoe

English Democrats: David Stewart Allen, Tony Stewart Allen, Joanne Allen, Fiona Allen

Green Party: Magid Magid, Alison Clare Teal, Andrew Varah Cooper, Louise Houghton, Lars Martin Kramm, Ann Christine Forsaith

Labour Party: Richard Graham Corbett, Eloise Karen Todd, Mohammed Jawad Afzal Khan, Jayne Marie Allport, Martin Trevor Mayer, Alison Louise Hume

Liberal Democrats: Shaffaq Mohammed, Rosina Jane Robson, James Christopher Blanchard, Sophie Jane Thornton, James Douglas Baker, Ruth Christine Coleman-Taylor

The Brexit Party: John Longworth, Lucy Elizabeth Harris, Jake Pugh, James Rupert Heartfield, Andrew Allison, Christopher Barker

The Yorkshire Party: Chris Whitwood, Mike Jordan, Jack Carrington, Laura Marie Walker, Bob Buxton, Dan Cochran

UKIP: Mike Hookem, Gary Colin Shores, John Robert Hancock, David Alan Dews, Graeme Boyd Waddicar, Clifford Parsons

Unlike the first-past-the-post system used in general elections, the European votes use a form of proportional representation known as the D’Hondt system, in which voters choose a single party and the number of elected candidates from each party’s list depends upon the proportion of votes cast.

In the first round of counting - which takes place this Sunday - the party with the most votes wins a seat for the candidate at the top of its list, and in the next round, that party’s vote is divided by two. If it is still top, it gains another seat, if not then whichever rival now has the most votes gets a seat. The process repeats until all the seats for the region have been allocated.

Yorkshire and Humber will provide six MEPs to the European Parliament, out of a total of 73 who will represent the UK.

The size of the European Parliament was due to be cut from 751 seats to 705 with the UK’s exit, following the referendum in 2016, and 27 of the seats formerly reserved for the UK will be redistributed among 14 other countries once Brexit occurs.

Recent polling of more than 7,000 adults by YouGov suggested The Brexit Party could take the largest number of votes on Thursday - about 35 per cent - followed by the Liberal Democrats and Labour with 16 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.

Polling will take place around York and Selby at local polling stations, which should be printed on your voting card.

If you do not have a polling card but are registered to vote, you can provide your name and address at your polling station. More at yourvotematters.co.uk