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Exclusive research by The Overtake reveals that the party once led by Nigel Farage has the worst attendance record across the whole continent.
As Britain prepares for an unexpected vote in the European elections this summer, Robyn Vinter, Abigail Fenton and Richard Worth of The Overtake have analysed the attendance records of British MEPs since the EU Referendum in June 2016 – and UKIP and former UKIP MEPs are conspicuous by their prolonged absence from the EU Parliament in Strasbourg.
As The Overtake explains: “UKIP and former UKIP MEPs are the worst in the UK for attendance, they also rank as worst in the entire European Parliament. That’s out of 751 MEPs from 28 countries.”
“It’s actually quite embarrassing, I think,” Conservative MEP Dr Charles Tannock told The Overtake.
Ukip Caught Kipping
A detailed report by Abigail Fenton shows that best attendance at plenary since the Brexit vote goes to Labour’s Derek Vaugh with 98.7% attendance, while Lucy Anderson, who is also a Labour MEP, made the most report amendments with a whopping 3,225 in total since the vote.
Meanwhile, leading Brexiteers Nigel Farage and Daniel Hannan appear in the top seven worst attendees.
Louise Bours
Plenary attendance: 54.5%
Number of report amendments: 40
Louise Bours, MEP for North West England, is the absolute worst, according to our ranking system. What has she been up to since Brexit? Basically nothing.
Paul Nuttall
Plenary attendance: 59.5%
Number of report amendments: 0
It’s hard to say exactly what former UKIP leader Paul Nuttall, now Brexit MEP for North West England, has been up to since the referendum
Nigel Farage
Plenary attendance: 61.4%
Number of report amendments: 0
It’s hardly surprising that the leader of the Brexit party Nigel Farage, MEP for South East England, hasn’t shown up to do any work for the EU – no motions, reports or amendments, one whole written question, member of one committee; you know the story by now.
William (The Earl of) Dartmouth
Plenary attendance: 67.7%
Number of report amendments: 37
Earl of Dartmouth William Legge, an independent MEP for South West England, is by far the most productive person on this list yet. He’s a member of three committees. He has put forward one proposal since the Brexit vote, and made 37 amendments to reports.
Nirj Deva
Plenary attendance: 65.8%
Number of report amendments: 185
What to say about Nirj Deva, Conservative MEP for South East England? His attendance hasn’t been great in the three years since the EU referendum – 65.8% – and he doesn’t seem to have done a lot of work, even if he’s not been the worst either.
Daniel Hannan
Plenary attendance: 73.4%
Number of report amendments: 4
Daniel Hannan, Conservative MEP for South East England, has bothered to show up to the European Parliament at least 73.4% of the time, according to our data, so we’re finally getting somewhere.
Unfortunately, it’s not far. The editor of The Conservative – a quarterly political journal – has only submitted two written questions, and made four report amendments since the Brexit vote.
Jane Collins
Plenary attendance: 74.1%
Number of report amendments: 28
Jane Collins, MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, is the only current UKIP party member to appear on this list. Much like her predecessors, Collins hasn’t bothered with reports, motions or written questions since the referendum. She’s on no committees at all. She has, at least, made 28 report amendments.
Read more of The Overtake’s ongoing investigation here.