| MEPs | Gain | Vote | |
| UKIP | 24 | (+11) | 28% (+11) |
| Labour | 20 | (+7) | 25% (+10) |
| Conservatives | 19 | (-7) | 24% (-4) |
| Green | 3 | (+1) | 8% (-1) |
| Liberal Democrats | 1 | (-10) | 7% (-7) |
| Other | 3 | (-2) | 8% |
MEPs BY REGION
| East Midlands (5) | Roger Helmer - Margo Parker - Emma McClarkin - Andrew Lewer Glenis Willmott |
| East England (7) | Patrick O'Flynn - Stuart Agnew - Tim Aker - Vicky Ford Geoffrey van Orden - David Campbell Bannerman - Richard Howitt |
| London (8) | Gerard Batten - Charles Tannock - Syed Kamall - Lucy Anderson Seb Dance - Mary Honeyball - Claude Moraes - Jean Lambert |
| North East England (3) | Jonathon Arnott - Jude Kirton-Darling - Paul Brannen |
| North West England (8) | Paul Nuttall - Louise Bours - Steven Woolfe - Theresa Griffin Afzal Khan - Julie Ward - Jacqueline Foster - Sajjad Karim |
| South East England (10) | Nigel Farage - Janice Atkinson - Diane James - Ray Finch Daniel Hannan - Nirj Deva - Richard Ashworth - Anneliese Dodds Keith Taylor - Catherine Bearder |
| South West England (6) | William Dartmouth - Julia Reid - Ashley Fox - Julie Girling Claire Moody - Molly Scott Cato |
| West Midlands (7) | Jill Seymour - Jim Carver - Bill Etheridge - Neena Gill - Sion Simon Philip Bradbourn - Anthea McIntyre |
| Yorkshire-Humber (6) | Jane Collins - Amjad Bashir - Mike Hookem - Linda McAvan Richard Corbett - Timothy Kirkhope |
| Scotland (6) | David Coburn - David Martin - Catherine Stihler - Ian Duncan Ian Hudghton - Alyn Smith |
| Wales (4) | Nathan Gill - Derek Vaughan - Kay Swinburne - Jill Evans |
| Northern Ireland (3) | Names |
UKIP leader Nigel Farage hailed a "historic" result in the European election as a party outside of Labour and the Conservatives topped a national poll for the first time in 104 years.
The Eurosceptic party increased its share of the vote by 11% to win 24 seats in the 11 regions of Great Britain under the proportional d'Hondt system.
Labour narrowly beat the Conservatives to second place in terms of seats and the popular vote thanks to a strong showing in London, just as it had in Thursday's local elections.
But the other big story was the fate of the Liberal Democrats who finished fifth behind the Green Party - and only avoided a total wipeout of their 12 MEPs by retaining their seat in South East England.
The thrashing prompted yet further calls on Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg to quit ahead of next year's general election.
Martin Todd, a member of the party's federal executive, told the BBC: "I am extremely concerned by what has happened. We have seen our share of support halve. There is a real issue with our strategy, there is a real issue with our leadership.
"Just saying more of the same just isn't going to cut it. I am really concerned that the initial response to what is a disaster is far too complacent."
At least, neither Danny Alexander - the Lib Dem chief secretary to the Treasury - nor party president Tim Farron attempted to sugar coat this horrible result.
They did, however, both defend Mr Clegg's policy of being explicitly pro-European in the run-up to the elections, including his decision to take on Mr Farage in two live debates.
Mr Farage undoubtedly won those, just as he undoubtedly won last night. Twenty years ago, in its first European election, the party managed a barely-noticeable 1% of the vote.
But the earthquake of Euroscepticism, which Mr Farage had promised, has now struck - as votes for anti-disestablishment parties poured in all over the continent.
Nowhere was this more worryingly emphasised than in France where Marine Le Pen's far-right Front National topped the poll with 25%, a result which means she expects to take 25 out of the 72 seats.
It really is difficult to believe - given such an outcome - that, only 70 years ago, the French were still under Nazi occupation. So much for liberté, égalité, fraternité, eh?
In Britain, at least, the fascists of the British National Party were finished off as they lost both of their remaining MEPs, including party führer Nick Griffin's seat in North West England.
Humiliatingly, Griffin's defeat prompted him to write on his Twitter feed: "If anyone can tell me how to change my twitter title without losing the account I'd be obliged!"
Just weeks ago, that same account had been hacked - with amusing consequences - but, while the BNP ambitions are dead in the water, the debate in Britain over Europe can still only be viewed through a right-wing prism.
UKIP's stunning victory has brought the likelihood of an in-out referendum that bit closer with Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron already committed to holding one in 2017 if his party wins outright power next year.
Electoral mathematics suggest that remains unlikely - but, with Ed Miliband's Labour still failing to convince, a second successive hung parliament beckons.
If that indeed is the case, Mr Farage hopes that through a Lib Dem collapse and his own careful targetting of around 20 seats, UKIP may be able to guarantee a referendum by holding the balance of power.
But, as Mr Farage is well aware having already failed six times personally, winning even a single seat in Westminster is an entirely different proposition to winning in the Euro elections.
No comments:
Post a Comment