Ignorance is risk  British voters know the least about the
European parliament so will they turn out and vote for
representatives they have never heard of? Ros Taylor finds out
Scores of interested parties turned out at a rainy Centrepoint
in London today to mull over one of the toughest tasks in
British politics. They weren't talking about education, they
weren't discussing health (or, at least, not much), and they
most definitely weren't debating the euro or the EU
constitution. They were wondering how to persuade the electorate
to vote at all in next year's European elections.  Turnout in
European elections has always been poor. Between 1979 and 1994
it hovered around a third of all UK voters. In 1999 it fell away
to 24%, and would have been even lower had the Northern Irish
not turned out in force. Proportional representation appears to
have confused rather than encouraged voters, and not everyone
thinks that holding both the local and European elections on
June 10 will improve matters. Several delegates