European Election Results: Farage’s Brexit Party Set For Victory As Tory And Labour Votes Collapse

In Jeremy Corbyn’s Islington constituency, Labour was beaten by the Lib Dems. In Theresa May’s Maidenhead constituency, the Tory vote plunged by a massive 29% as Farage’s party topped the poll.

Among the Brexit party’s star names, former Tory minister Ann Widdecombe and Annunziata Rees-Mogg – sister of Tory MP Jacob – were both elected as MEPs.

In the North East, the Brexit Party scored a stunning vote share of 39% in the region. Labour’s support fell from 29% in 2014 to just 19%.

In a pattern that looked set to be repeated across the UK, support for the Conservatives was slashed to just 7% and the party came fifth behind the Greens. But the Lib Dems went up from just 5% in the last Euro elections to 17% in 2019.

In Wales, Labour failed to top the poll for only the second time in the last century. It came third behind the Brexit party and Plaid Cymru.

In Scotland, Labour was set to come fifth, as the SNP topped the poll with 38% of the vote.

Labour MPs, members and some activists complained that their own party’s failure to commit clearly to a second Brexit referendum led to a haemorrhage of support.

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry told the BBC that Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee now had to change position to push policy for a fresh referendum and campaign for Remain.

“I think we are going to get a kicking,” she said.

“We were not clear on the one single thing people wanted to hear. We should have said quite simply that any deal that comes out of this government should be put to a confirmatory referendum and that Remain should be on the ballot paper and that Labour would campaign to Remain.”

The East of England region elected three Brexit MEPs, two Lib Dems, one Green and one Tory.

With Theresa May set to step aside as Tory leader next month, the Farage surge will be seized on by those contenders to succeed her who favour a ‘no-deal’ Brexit.

On Sunday, Michael Gove formally declared his candidacy, bringing to eight the number of MPs who have joined the race. A further four, including home secretary Sajid Javid, are considering whether to run.

A poll of polls in the run up to the election put Farage’s Brexit Party on an average of 33%, ahead of Labour on 18.5%, the Lib Dems on 17% and Tories on 12%. The Greens had been on an average of 9% and ChangeUK on 6%.

However, some early figures suggested that areas that had voted Remain, including Cardiff, Cambridge and Wandsworth, had a higher turnout of voters than in 2014, while Leave-voting areas had a flat or lower turnout.

Other English regional results are due through the night, with Northern Ireland and Scotland due to report on Monday.

The MEP elections are only happening because Parliament remains deadlocked on a Brexit deal.

If MPs had passed May’s exit plan, the UK would have left the EU and would have been ineligible to stand candidates for the Strasbourg Parliament.