Unemployment and economic insecurity will be uppermost in people’s minds when voters in 27 countries start going to the polls on Thursday to elect a new European parliament in the biggest multi-national election in history.

According to a poll for the legislature last month by TNS Opinion, a market researcher, unemployment was the top concern for 57 per cent of voters, followed by economic growth at 45 per cent, insecurity at 32 per cent and the future of pensions at 31 per cent.