Why should I care who my MEP is?

Brexit Explained: Britain is set to take part in European Parliament elections at the end of May

In all likelihood, Britain will be taking part in the European parliament elections at the end of May. But why should you care who your MEP is?

MEPs scrutinise, amend and block laws that the European Commission proposes – meaning their decisions affect European Union law, and thus British law. As a large member state, Britain has 73 MEPs – around 10 per cent of the total, which means collectively they are a huge voting bloc.

But with the UK set to leave the EU, this influence won’t last long, and MEPs may only sit for a couple of months at most – not long enough to pass legislation.