European Parliament Elections 2019 - What you need to know and guidance on holding meetings with a difference - Scottish Churches ...
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European Parliament Elections 2019 What you need to know and guidance on holding meetings with a difference www.scpo.scot Scottish Charity No: SCO11353
Introduction
This is a resource created by the
Scottish Churches Parliamentary
Office (SCPO) which works on
behalf of 11 Christian
denominations across Scotland to
help navigate the European
Parliament Elections 2019.
As Christians we are called to play
our part as individuals and groups
within God’s Kingdom. One way
we can do this is to encourage
open and respectful debate on the decisions that voters will face on May 23, 2019, and to use our
democratic right to vote.
The Church has a unique role in providing the space for individuals and groups, who are often on the
margins of society but who are most directly impacted by political decisions, to have their voices heard.
This is a resource designed for church groups who would like to know a bit more about the elections,
and / or who may be planning an election meeting in their local area. Within this document we explain
how this can be done in a different and effective way using the People’s Politics model.
It is our belief that through the process of hearing, seeing and engaging with people’s stories, we can all
be better equipped to care for those in need, and show our care and love for God by doing so.
The following pages contain information about the European Parliament and a Meeting Guide to equip
groups to organise their own European Parliament Election meeting – please feel free to adapt as
appropriate.
More information
An election meeting can be a chance for congregation members to think about the issues that matter to
them. For more resources on election issues, the following websites may be useful:
www.scpo.scot
www.jointpublicissues.org.uk/issues/
www.churchofscotland.org.uk/speak_out
www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/views-of-the-church/government-and-politics
https://www.scottishbaptist.com/public-issues/
http://www.quakerscotland.org/our-work
https://urc.org.uk/
www.scpo.scot
Scottish Charity No: SCO11353The European Parliament
There are 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). There are 73 MEPs that represent the UK.
Other EU member states elect MEPs from their countries, and elections take place every five years.
The UK is divided into 12 electoral regions made up of the nations and regions of the UK. Each region
has between three and 10 MEPs and each MEP in a region represents each person living there.
Scotland is a region and is represented by six MEPs.
Find out who the current MEPs are by clicking here
To find out what MEPs do click here
To find out more about the European Parliament click here
More information about the European Parliament elections can be found on The Electoral
Commission website here
Register to vote by 7 May 2019
To register to vote please click here
For a list of the candidates from each of the political parties that are standing for election in the
Scotland region click here
Churches across Europe
The Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the Churches Commission for Migrants in Europe
(CCME) have jointly published a brochure in advance of the elections focusing on the values shared by
countries across Europe. This can be downloaded here
Videos have also been produced for use in churches and church groups from church leaders across
Europe which can be downloaded here
www.scpo.scot
Scottish Charity No: SCO11353Organising a Meeting – the People’s Politics model The Meeting The aim of the meeting is to ensure that we all fully understand the needs of our communities, particularly the needs of those who are most marginalised. Individuals and groups across Scotland should be given a voice that will be heard by their local candidates. To strengthen local democratic involvement, each church group should aim to attract as many people from their area to the meeting as possible. As a rough guide you should expect the meeting to last one and a half to two hours. The Chairperson Each church group should appoint a chairperson - someone who is respected within the community, politically neutral and independent. He/she should also be able to lead an event with the ability to manage time, competing voices and a variety of themes. The Format The format is different to a conventional hustings meeting. Rather than inviting the public to come and listen to local candidates, the event begins with local candidates listening to members of the public and their experiences. In the context of the European Election, two or three people would be selected to tell their own personal stories, themed around a relevant topic, such as the Environment, Food (Agriculture, Fisheries, Trade), Human Rights, and Medicine, to name a few examples. The chairperson of the meeting will introduce the event and its format before inviting the first person to come and share their story. This person will have three minutes to share their story before posing a question that they would like the local candidate to answer (make sure that each storyteller asks a different question linked to the theme raised). The chairperson will then ask each of the candidates in turn to come up and discuss what they have heard and answer the question posed. Each candidate will be given three minutes to answer before returning to their seat. This should be a three-way conversation between the chairperson, the person sharing their story and the candidate. It is not a dialogue between the candidates. Once all the candidates have responded, the chairperson will thank them and thank the person who has shared their story. The chairperson will then invite the next person to share their story. This process of a story followed by responses from local candidates will happen two to three times depending on the number of storytellers. Each of these sessions will last no more than 30 minutes – equating to an hour and a half in total. Once all stories have been heard and responses from candidates given, the chairperson has the option to ask all the speakers to come to the front of the stage and take questions from the audience (time permitting). Following this, the chairperson will thank the speakers, express appreciation to the audience, and bring the event to a close. Date The church group should set a date for the meeting in advance of the European Parliament Election Day on Thursday 23 May. www.scpo.scot Scottish Charity No: SCO11353
Example Timings Example Room Layout
Segment Maximum Centre of the stage there will be seating for the Chairperson, the
Timings person sharing their story and an additional chair for the candidate
when they are invited to come and join the conversation. The
Welcome and 18:00 – 18:05
participants will sit at the first row in front of the audience.
introduction
Issue 1 - story 18:05 – 18:10
Issue 1 - 18:10 – 18:35
responses
Chairperson
Issue 2 - story 18:35 – 18:40
Issue 2 - 18:40 – 19:05
responses
Issue 3 - story 19:05 – 19:10 Stage
Issue 3 - 19:10 – 19:35 Participants (front row)
responses
Questions from 19:35 – 19:45 Audience
audience
Close 19:45
The Venue
Helping individuals share their story
The meeting should take place within the boundaries of the specific ward. The ideal is to have a venue
in theofmidst
Much of an area
the success where
of this people
event relieslive
on who are normally
facilitating not heard
individuals during
to share theircampaigns
stories. Forand whoofare
some those individuals, this
less involved in politics. The venue should be a safe place and accessible, both literally and figuratively
may be an intimidating process and if possible you should spend time with them beforehand ensuring that they are
speaking, for everyone. Please make also sure the venue is fully equipped (e.g. microphones, lights,
comfortable
etc.) with the format and have what prepared what they wish to say. Some may wish to have their story written
down in advance. For others speaking for three minutes may be difficult, and in these instances an interview approach
between
Audience the chairperson
and Publicity and the story teller may be advisable.
The event should be open to all, but especially focussed on people living within your ward. We
Knowing what question to ask the candidates may also be difficult for those sharing their story. If this is the case you may
recommend seeking as much local publicity for the event as possible. Each church group should create
need to help them think about the question in advance. The question does not need to be complicated and often simple
their own poster (please ask the SCPO office for an example, if needed), including information on the
questions such as, “if elected what would you do to address this issue?” can be very powerful.
theme, venue, date, time and speakers. Posters should be displayed in public areas, such as your
church,
The shops,
second libraries
significant and
part ofother public venues.
the process involves facilitating the discussion between the candidates and the story teller.
In this instance it is important that the chairperson ensures that both individuals are allowed a fair contribution and that
Catering
they do so in a measured and constructive way. It may be worth going through this with the participants in advance of the
event.up to the local church group to decide whether or not to provide refreshme
It is
www.scpo.scot
Scottish Charity No: SCO11353Important questions
Who should be organising the meeting?
The local church group should have the lead before and during the meeting. In order to be well
organised, the church group should appoint a project manager. The project manager will be the main
point of contact and he/she will have overall responsibility. The project manager will delegate the tasks
that have to be done (refer to the ‘action plan’ at the end of this document).
Which themes should be chosen?
The aim of this project is to focus on voices that are normally not heard during campaigns.
Based on what’s happening within their own local area, the group should make a list of subjects which
fit within the aim of the event. Examples mentioned above include the Environment, Food (Agriculture
and Fisheries), Human Rights and Medicine. Subsequently, the group could decide which issue is the
most important within their area that is appropriate and make this the leading theme for the meeting.
Who should be invited to participate?
Storytellers
The church group must identify two or three individuals who are willing and able to share their stories.
These should be individuals known to the group who have lived experience or have dealt with the
issues involved. Please make sure that the individuals differ as much as possible (e.g. age, gender,
(un)employed, student etc.) Each individual should have a different question for their local candidates,
linked to the theme of their story.
Candidates of political parties
Which candidates should be invited to the event requires careful thought. You should normally invite all
of the candidates standing in your constituency; however the proposed format of the event is quite
time-consuming. Therefore while it is important to have a good spread of different parties, it is also
accepted that inviting too many different parties would make the event cumbersome.
The timings given provide room for five candidates; but it is up to the local church group to decide how
many candidates they want to invite. Whatever your decision it is important that any choice must be
impartial and justifiable. The church group should have reasonable grounds for the choice made - even
the semblance of a political preference should be avoided at all times.
Impartial reasons may emerge from the following considerations:
• local prominence of some parties or candidates over others
• the number of elected representatives at the local or national level
• recent election results in the area
• resources and other practicalities constraining numbers of invitees
• security or public safety concerns
You must not omit a candidate because you do not agree with their views or policies. This is not an
impartial reason.
www.scpo.scot
Scottish Charity No: SCO11353How should we publicise the meeting?
Once you have finalised the time, venue and invited candidates, try to get publicity for the meeting out
to as many people and in as many ways as possible. Write to all the churches in the local area, asking
them to put up posters and to put details of the meeting in their weekly notice sheet.
Make a list of public places where details of the meeting could be advertised – public libraries, doctors’
surgeries, post offices, community centres, shop windows, church members’ windows.
You can also ask local media to advertise the event. Notify the candidates that you will be doing this,
and send out a press release in advance. The more publicity you promise, the more eager the
candidates will be to attend.
The press release can be very simple (stating What, When, Where, Who and Why) and should be sent
to local newspapers and radio stations. Remember to include contact telephone numbers so they can
find out further details. It is important to stress that these meetings are not campaigning events,
although churches and Christian bodies may be actively campaigning on particular issues on other
occasions.
Action Plan
Who is What has been done
Task
responsible
Form working group
responsible for organise
the event
Book Venue
- Layout
- Microphones
Before
Find experts / story
event
tellers
Identify and invite your
local candidates
Advertising / publicity
Catering
First Aid
Setting up venue
Stewarding
First Aid
Chairing the event
On the
Catering and dietary
day
requirements
Hosting representatives /
speakers
Publicity
After the
Contact SCPO to let them
day
know how it went
www.scpo.scot
Scottish Charity No: SCO11353What is the role of SCPO? The main objective of this resource is to explore the possibilities for the church to support the ongoing democratic process. We therefore encourage churches to be involved with the democratic process within their own local community and to engage around the European Parliament elections. SCPO can answer questions and offer help where needed. After the elections, we would like to document any meetings to learn from the experiences for future events. If each church group could send a short report to SCPO after the event, this would be very much appreciated. Contact details All reports and enquiries can be sent to SCPO at info@scpo.scot or by telephone on 0131 240 2276. For more information on SCPO please go to www.scpo.scot www.scpo.scot Scottish Charity No: SCO11353
www.scpo.scot Scottish Charity No: SCO11353
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