Yorkshire braces for European election results at Leeds Town Hall

Yorkshire's 2019 European elections candidatesNine political parties have put forward candidates to represent the region in Europe after voters went to the ballot box on Thursday.

In Yorkshire, results are expected after 10.30pm.

All the parties, except the English Democrats, have fielded the maximum six candidates.

European elections are a battle for the soul of UK - Jayne DowleNationally, both the Conservatives and Labour are braced for a backlash from voters over Brexit.

Opinion polls have suggested Nigel Farage's Brexit Party could be on course for victory in the European contests.

The Liberal Democrats, from the opposite side of the Brexit divide, are also expected to pick up votes.

The European elections took place almost three years after the UK voted to leave the EU because of Theresa May's failure to get her Brexit deal through Parliament.

In Yorkshire, the elections are being contested by Change UK – the Independent Group, the Conservative and Unionist Party, the English Democrats, the Green Party, the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats, the Brexit Party, the Yorkshire Party and the UK Independence Party (UKIP).

Former Sheffield Lord Mayor, Magid Magid, who won national fame for his eccentric style, is the leading candidate for the Greens.

England is split into nine regions in this election, of which Yorkshire and the Humber is one.

The number of MEPs elected is dependent on the population of the region, and with some 5.45million in Yorkshire and the Humber, it elects six candidates.

Following a 33.63 per cent regional turnout in 2014, UKIP won 31.3 per cent of the EU election vote and three seats. Labour won two and the Conservatives took the last.

In the 2016 Brexit referendum, 58 per cent of the region voted Leave.

Writing in The Observer, deputy Labour leader Tom Watson said the party was "braced with a sense of despair" and blamed Labour's ambiguous position on a second Brexit referendum for it potentially losing votes.

"I want reports of high turnout in Remain areas to reflect a huge gain in votes for Labour. I fear that won't be the case," he said.

Prominent Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan said he feared the party was facing "total wipeout" and would be left without any representation at all.

The Brexiteer, who has been a member for South East England since 1999, said he suspected the party would be left with "zero MEPs" following the poll.

Seventy-three MEPs will be elected to represent the UK, with England, Scotland and Wales using a form of proportional representation called the D'Hondt system and Northern Ireland using the single transferable vote method.