In the UK the European elections are typically guaranteed a low turnout. In 1999, turnout here was the lowest in Europe at 24%. In an attempt to combat this, the Labour Government is holding experiments in postal ballots in four of Britain's 12 European constituencies. The pace and direction of European integration is a topic of much debate here and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has recently decided to hold a referendum on the proposed EU constitution. Like many countries the UK is losing seats in the European Parliament to provide space for the new member nations. This means the UK will have 78 instead of 87 seats. The UK uses a list system of proportional representation, except for Northern Ireland, which uses the single transferable vote system.