Editing Graham Watson (section)

===Second term===
In 1999 the introduction of the list system (a form of [[proportional representation]]) in [[Great Britain]] for European elections meant Watson's constituency was abolished in favour of a larger multi-member constituency encompassing [[South West England]]. The [[South West England (European Parliament constituency)|South West constituency]] would later also include [[Gibraltar]], from 2004. Watson was re-elected in this constituency as the sole Liberal Democrat member at the [[1999 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom|1999 European Parliamentary election]]. His party had gained 171,398 votes, 15.7% of the total.<ref name="GW 99 Results">{{cite web|title=European Election Results For South West England |publisher=Graham Watson MEP website |url=http://www.grahamwatsonmep.org.uk/results/669.html |access-date=2007-10-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012092640/http://www.grahamwatsonmep.org.uk/results/669.html |archive-date=2007-10-12 }}</ref> During this term he led the ten British Liberal Democrats in the parliament<ref name="EP Bio" /> and between 1999 and 2002 he held the [[Chair (official)|chair]] of the [[Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs|Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs]].<ref name="GW Bio" /> In that position he steered through Parliament freedom of information provisions and the legislation providing for a European Arrest Warrant. In 2002 he was elected to lead the EU-wide ELDR Group, succeeding Irishman Pat Cox MEP.