Elections for the European Parliament are being held this Thursday, May 22, with seven MEPs to be elected in the Eastern region which covers Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

A system of proportional representation is used in the election to allocate the seven seats and voters get to select one party from the list.

Below are the parties and candidates running in the Eastern region, which also covers Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.

An Independence From Europe: Karl Davies, Edmond Rosenthal, Rupert Smith, Raymond Spalding, Betty Wiffen, Dennis Wiffen, Paul Wiffen.

British National Party: Michael Braun, Mark Burmby, Paul Hooks, Philip Howell, Christopher Livingstone, Richard Perry, Stephen Smith.

Christian Peoples Alliance: Kevin Austin, Carl Clark, Jane Clamp, Mark Clamp, Kirsty Evans, Chris Olley, Stephen Todd.

The Conservative Party: David Campbell Bannerman, Jonathan Collett, John Flack, Vicky Ford, Tom Hunt, Margaret Simons, Geoffrey Van Orden.

The English Democrats: Bridget Cowan, Stephen Goldspink, Jeremy Moss, Maria Situmbeko, Robin Tilbrook, Charles Vickers, Don Whitbread.

Green Party: Mark Ereira, Ash Haynes, Robert Lindsay, Jill Mills, Fiona Radic, Rupert Read, Marc Scheimann.

Labour Party: Jane Basham, Paul Bishop, Richard Howitt, Bhavna Joshi, Sandy Martin, Alex Mayer, Chris Ostrowski.

Liberal Democrats: Hugh Annand, Belinda Brooks-Gordon, Andrew Duff, Michael Green, Josephine Hayes, Linda Jack, Stephen Robinson.

No2EU: Brian Denny, Eleanor Donne, Stephen Glennon, David Goode, Leonardo Impett, Teresa MacKay, Emily Thompson-Golding.

UK Independence Party: Stuart Agnew, Tim Aker, Michael Heaver, Mark Hughes, Mick McGough, Andy Monk, Patrick O’Flynn.