A by-election to the British Parliament also took place on the same day in the Leeds Central constituency - Labour held the seat but with significantly reduced turnout.

The House of Commons Library calculated notional seat changes based on what the result would have been if the 1994 European elections had been held under proportional representation.

It was the first European Parliament election to be held since the change of United Kingdom government from Conservative to Labour two years earlier.

[3] The House of Commons Library calculated that if the 1994 European elections had been held under proportional representation, Labour would have won 43 MEPs, the Conservatives 26, the Lib Dems 11, the SNP 3 and Plaid Cymru 1.

A follow-up poll ran on the Sunday after the election found that this had decreased to 43%, with the majority wanting a return to the first-past-the-post system.

[6] It has also been argued, however, that the introduction of proportional representation actually reduced Labour's losses, as first-past-the-post is more sensitive to swings in public opinion.