No surge – so far – in applications to vote in EU elections

The deadline to register to vote in the EU elections is only a week away – but so far there is no sign of a surge in applications.

Nearly 135,000 people submitted applications in the seven days to April 29, according to Government figures.

This was up on the previous seven days – which included the four-day Easter break – but below the total recorded in preceding weeks.

The UK is due to take part in elections to the European Parliament on May 23, but only if the Government has failed to get MPs to approve its Brexit deal by polling day.

The deadline to register to vote in the EU elections is May 7.

Figures show that 133,981 applications were submitted in the seven days to April 29.

Half of these came from people aged 34 and under, while just 7% came from people aged 65 and over.

EU citizens living in the UK can take part in the European Parliamentary elections, but they must be registered to vote and submit a declaration form.

This must also happen by May 7.

Full details on how to register are at gov.uk/register-to-vote