European election: Farage hails UKIP as “third force” in British politics

Nigel Farage has hailed the emergence of UKIP as the “third force” in British politics, after they won the most seats in the European elections.

With Scotland and Northern Ireland still yet to declare its results, UKIP managed a 27.5% share of the vote, which earned them 23 MEPs. They were the big winners of the night, managing to win votes from the Tories and Lib Dems, and completely wiping the further-right BNP off the political map.

There was then a close fight for second place, with Labour on 25.4% with 18 MEPs and the Tories on 23.9% and also with 18 MEPs. This was the first time that the Tories have ever come third in a national poll, and London was the main differentiator between the two, where Labour doubled their votes from the previous elections five years ago.

The Liberal Democrats were the big losers of the night, losing nine MEPs and half of their vote share from the previous elections, leaving them with just 6.9% of the vote and one MEP.

The poor showing by the Lib Dems has left the Greens to emerge as the fourth largest party, pushing Nick Clegg’s party in fifth place. The Greens’ share of the vote flat-lined from the previous election, but with 7.9% of the vote they gained one MEP, with their total now three.

UK European election results 2014