IT was a vote many people thought we would not be taking part in.

But due to Brexit being delayed, voters across the UK will be going to the polls on May 23 to elect Members of the European Parliament.

Here's what you can expect when you go to vote and when we will find out the results.

How does the voting system work in England, Scotland and Wales?

Unlike the first-past-the-post system used in general elections, the European contests use the D’Hondt system, a form of proportional representation.

Voters choose a single party and the number of elected candidates from each party’s list depends upon the proportion of votes cast.

In the first round of counting the party with the most votes wins a seat for the candidate at the top of its list.

In the next round, that party’s vote is divided by two, if it is still top it gains another seat, if not then whichever rival now has the most gets a seat.

At each subsequent round, the process repeats itself, with the original vote of the winning party in each round being divided by one plus their running total of MEPs, until all the seats for the region have been allocated.

How many MEPs will be elected?

A total of 73 MEPs represent the UK.

England is split into nine regions: South East England has 10 MEPs, London and North West England each have eight, East of England and the West Midlands each have seven, Yorkshire and the Humber and South West England have six each, the East Midlands has five and North East England has three.

Scotland has six MEPs, Wales four and Northern Ireland three.

When can I vote and what do I do?

When you go to vote on May 23, the ballot paper will have a list of parties or a name if a person is standing as an independent.

You vote by putting a cross in the box next to the party or person you want to vote for.

THE CANDIDATES LIST:

Change UK: Andrea Cooper, Dan Price, Arun Banerji, Michael Taylor, Philippa Olive, Victoria Desmond, Andrew Graystone, Elisabeth Knight.

Conservative: Sajjad Karim, Kevin Beaty, Jane Howard, Arnold Saunders, Wendy Maisey, Thomas Lord, Anthony Pickles, Attika Choudhary

English Democrats: Stephen Morris, Valerie Morris.

Green: Gina Dowding, Wendy Olsen, Jessica Northey, Geraldine Coggins, Rosie Mills, Astrid Johnson, Daniel Jerrome, James Booth.

Labour: Theresa Griffin, Julie Ward, Wajid Khan, Erica Lewis, David Brennan, Claire Cozler, Saf Ismail, Yvonne Tennant.

Liberal Democrats: Chris Davies, Jane Brophy, Helen Foster-Grime, Anna Fryer, Sam Al-Hamdani, Rebecca Forrest, John Studholme, Frederick Van Mierlo.

The Brexit Party: Claire Fox, Henrik Overgaard Nielsen, David Bull, Gary Harvey, Ajay Jagota, Elizabeth Babade, Sally Bate, John Kelly.

UK European Union Party: Sophie Larroque.

UKIP: Adam Richardson, Jeff Armstrong, Fiona Mills, Nathan Ryding, Michael Felse, Ben Fryer, John Booker, Alexander Craig.

Independent: Mohmmad Aslam

Independent: Tommy Robinson

Why is the UK taking part?

Brexit has been delayed for six months with a new date set for October 31 2019, which means the UK must now participate in EU polls.

When do we find out the results?

The Netherlands and the UK vote first on Thursday 23 May then a handful of countries go to the polls on Friday and Saturday.

Most member states (21 of them) run the election on Sunday.

Results cannot be announced before the last polling station closes at 11pm Central European Time (CET) in Italy.

Officials at the European parliament expect to announce the first projection of results, based on exit polls and counted votes, as soon as 11.15pm CET.

Where can I vote?

You can find your nearest polling station by clicking here