electionstracker

United Kingdom 1989 European Parliament election

What was the result of the 1989 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom?

Labour Party won 45 of 81 seats with 39.0% of the vote. 36.8% of registered voters cast a ballot.

  • United Kingdom
  • Held:
  • Final result
  • ParlGov, read 5 October 2026

Which party won the most seats?

Final results from ParlGov, read : Labour Party won 45 of 81 seats with 39.0% of the vote; 36.8% of registered voters cast a ballot, up 3.9 points on 1984.

  • Labour Party 45 +13 seats 39.0% +4.2 points
  • Conservative Party 32 −13 seats 33.0% −5.8 points
  • Green Party of England and Wales 0 14.5%
  • Liberal Democrats 0 0 seats 6.2% −12.3 points
  • Scottish National Party 1 0 seats 2.6% +0.9 points
  • Democratic Unionist Party 1 0 seats 1.0% −0.6 points
  • Social Democratic and Labour Party 1 0 seats 0.9% −0.2 points
  • Ulster Unionist Party 1 0 seats 0.8% −0.3 points
  • Seats won
  • Change on the previous election at the right
  • Share of the vote
  • Share at the previous election
  • Change in points at the right

Changes are against the United Kingdom 1984 European Parliament election, party by party.

Key numbers

  1. 39.0%

    Share of the vote won by Labour Party

    It led Conservative Party by 6.0 points of the vote.

  2. +13 seats

    Seats gained by Labour Party

    The largest gain in seats compared with 1984. Conservative Party lost 13 seats.

  3. 36.8%

    Voter turnout

    Up 3.9 points on 1984.

Seats and votes by party

PartySeats± seats%± pointsVotes
Labour Party45+1339.0+4.26,153,640
Conservative Party32−1333.0−5.85,331,077
Green Party of England and Wales014.52,292,705
Liberal Democrats006.2−12.3986,292
Scottish National Party102.6+0.9406,686
Democratic Unionist Party101.0−0.6160,110
Social Democratic and Labour Party100.9−0.2136,335
Ulster Unionist Party100.8−0.3118,785

± is the change against the United Kingdom 1984 European Parliament election, party by party.

Votes by party
  • Labour Party 6,153,640
  • Conservative Party 5,331,077
  • Green Party of England and Wales 2,292,705
  • Liberal Democrats 986,292
  • Scottish National Party 406,686
  • Democratic Unionist Party 160,110
  • Social Democratic and Labour Party 136,335
  • Ulster Unionist Party 118,785

ParlGov lists parties with at least 1 percent of the vote or 2 seats, so the rows do not add up to the valid votes.

How many people voted?

36.8% of the 43,180,720 registered voters cast a ballot (15,896,078 ballots), up 3.9 points on 1984. 15,870,465 of them were valid votes.

How do the votes compare with the seats?

  • Labour Party39.0% of votes55.6% of seats
  • Conservative Party33.0% of votes39.5% of seats
  • Scottish National Party2.6% of votes1.2% of seats
  • Democratic Unionist Party1.0% of votes1.2% of seats
  • Social Democratic and Labour Party0.9% of votes1.2% of seats
  • Ulster Unionist Party0.8% of votes1.2% of seats
  • Green Party of England and Wales14.5% of votes0.0% of seats
  • Liberal Democrats6.2% of votes0.0% of seats
Each party's share of the vote (outlined) and of the seats (filled)

The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 16.8 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 3.5 by votes and 2.1 by seats; Labour Party led Conservative Party by 6.0 points of the vote.

Time and source Data as of