2014 ELECTION

European elections results 2014: Farage and Ukip top poll as Europe swings to the right

Nigel Farage inflicted another body blow on the three main political parties on Sunday night as Ukip scored a stunning victory in the European Parliament elections.

The anti-EU party dramatically built on its success in the local elections in England last Thursday when the results of the Euro poll on the same day were announced. A jubilant Mr Farage hailed the outcome as “an earthquake” because “never before in the history of British politics has a party seen to be an insurgent party ever topped the polls in a national election”.

The Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats conceded that Ukip had come first, with just Northern Ireland left to declare on Monday afternoon.

At 12.30pm it was confirmed that Ukip had taken its first ever Scottish seat, taking the party's total to 24 - almost double the 13 seats it won in the last Euro elections in 2009. The result from Scotland was delayed because the Western Isles local authority does not count votes on a Sunday.

The Tories, who came first last time with 25 seats, have suffered the humiliation of dropping to third place for the first time ever in a national election. They secured just under 24 per cent of the vote, losing six seats.

Labour claimed victories in Wales, the North East and North West of England and London to take 25.4 per cent of the vote, and with two seats in Scotland increased its number of MEPs by nine to 20.

But the Liberal Democrats suffered a disastrous result, falling to an embarrassing fifth place behind the Green Party amid increasing grassroots pressure on Nick Clegg to stand down as party leader.

Lib Dem fears of a total wipeout were raised when they lost their seat in the one-time stronghold of the South West. Sir Graham Watson, president of the Liberal group in the European Parliament, was ousted by the Greens. However, they avoided the worst humiliation by winning one seat in the South East. Nationally, the Greens added a single seat to take three overall.

Across the EU, nationalist and Eurosceptic parties made big gains amid predictions that they would double their strength in the European Parliament. In France, Marine Le Pen's Front National  topped a nationwide poll for the first time in its history, with the anti-immigrant party predicted to take 25 per cent of the vote and win as many as 24 seats in the European Parliament.

Ms Le Pen said France had “shouted loud and clear” that it wanted to be run “by the French, for the French and with the French” and not by “foreign commissioners” in Brussels. Manuel Valls, France’s Socialist Prime Minister, said the victory was “more than a shock, it's an earthquake”.

Turnout across the EU was estimated at 43.1 per cent, in line with the previous Euro elections  five years ago.

In Belgium, the separatist New Flemish Alliance was tipped to receive nearly a third of votes cast in the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders. In Austria, the far right Freedom Party was forecast to win a fifth of the votes.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/european-elections-results-2014-sweeping-gains-for-nigel-farages-ukip-deal-further-body-blow-to-main-parties-9434042.html