Europe heads to the polling booths

The British public heads to the polling booths today on the first day of voting in the largest trans-national election in history.

Millions are expected to turn out for the election of 736 MEPs to the European Parliament. Voting will take place across 27 EU member states until Sunday, with the UK and the Netherlands voting today.

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York are among church leaders urging people not to let extremist parties like the BNP gain new ground by protest voting or abstaining.

"Christians have been deeply disturbed by the conscious adoption by the BNP of the language of our faith when the effect of those policies is not to promote those values but to foster fear and division within communities, especially between people of different faiths or racial background," they said.

"This is not a moment for voting in favour of any political party whose core ideology is about sowing division in our communities and hostility on grounds of race, creed or colour; it is an opportunity for renewing the vision of a community united by mutual respect, high ethical standards and the pursuit of justice and peace."

The Merseyside Council of Faiths, meanwhile, urged people to vote for candidates who promote harmony, partnership and justice.

"People have strived for generations for the right to vote in the United Kingdom and we believe that everyone has a moral responsibility to vote – apathy is not an option for any of us," it said in a statement.

Christian political advocacy group CARE urged people not to overlook the importance of voting in the elections. Nola Leach, CARE's Head of Public Affairs said that while the European Parliament used to be a talking shop with only a consultative role, treaties like Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice had since transferred to it new responsibilities.

"Today it is a very influential body in the development of European legislation which has very significant implications for all our lives. It is vital that Christians discharge their civic 'salt and light' responsibilities by voting on Thursday," she said.

David Fieldsend, CARE's representative in Brussels, added, "The vast majority of European legislation now requires the agreement of the European Parliament. This then goes on to set the limits within which Westminster is allowed to legislate. I cannot over emphasise the importance of these elections for future law and policy in the UK."