European election results 2019: Brexit Party vow to take on Tories and Labour in general election as Tommy Robinson and UKIP obliterated
Labour hints at supporting second referendum as Liberal Democrats win Remain voters
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Your support makes all the difference.Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party has claimed victory in the European parliamentary elections, taking 29 seats and topping the poll in ten of the UK's 11 regions.
On a grim night for the Conservatives and Labour, the pro-EU Liberal Democrats emerged as the other big winners, with leader Sir Vince Cable saying it was “proof that the Lib Dems are the biggest, strongest voice of Remain”.
Theresa May said it was a "very disappointing night" for the Conservatives and once again urged MPs to find a solution to the Brexit crisis.
"Some excellent MEPs have lost their seats, some excellent candidates missed out," she said.
"But Labour have also suffered big losses. It shows the importance of finding a Brexit deal, and I sincerely hope these results focus minds in Parliament"
Boris Johnson, widely considered the frontrunner in the race to replace Ms May, said voters had delivered the Conservative party with a "final warning".
He urged his colleagues to deliver Brexit and "deliver Brexit and set out our positive plans for the country."
At the same time Labour edged closer to support for a second Brexit referendum, after voters in Remain strongholds deserted the party and voted for the Liberal Democrats.
In early-morning messages after seeing the party slump to third place with a 14 per cent share of the vote, both Jeremy Corbyn and shadow chancellor John McDonnell said that the issue of EU withdrawal must be put to a public vote – which could come in a general election or a Final Say referendum.
Mr McDonnell tweeted: “Can’t hide from hit we took last night. Bringing people together when there’s such a divide was never going to be easy. Now we face prospect of Brexiteer extremist as Tory leader and threat of no deal, we must unite our party and country by taking issue back to people in a public vote.”
If you would like to see how the EU election results night unfolded, please see what was our live coverage below:
As feared by many Conservative insiders, the party has suffered a devastating loss in the European parliament elections - but possibly even worse than some anticipated.
With 10 out of 12 regions declared in European elections, the Conservatives are in fifth place with 9.1% vote share: the party's lowest share in a national election since 1834 - 185 years ago.
Here's a graph showing just how disastrous the results are.
Labour Party members cannot understand Jeremy Corbyn’s strategy of straddling Leave and Remain, and the shadow foreign secretary finally said so, writes political commentator John Rentoul
For anyone wondering why Ann Widdecombe is trending, the former Conservative has won a seat in the European Parliament for the Brexit Party in the South West region.
She said the national results show “the people have once again voted to leave.”
Repeating party leader Nigel Farage’s warning about a repeat of the results, Widdecombe said: “This sends a very clear message that if the politicians don’t sort out Brexit then at the next general election both big parties will face carnage.”
PA
Prominent Brexiteer and MEP Daniel Hannan retained his South East seat, despite his own prediction the Tories could be “wiped out”.
He responded to the results by saying: “People voted to leave three years ago and we haven’t left, it’s as simple as that. I think I’m back as one of, I think it looks like being three Conservatives nationally. So without question our worst result as a party ever.”
He has also tweeted about losing “good friends in the European Parliament.”
Some key points this morning with just two regions left to declare:
- Nigel Farage's newly-formed Brexit Party is the clear winner in the European Parliament elections. So far they have 28 MEPs with over 31% of the vote share.
- Support for Westminster two major parties - the Conservatives and Labour - has collapsed in these elections. The Conservatives, for example, suffered their worst vote share in a national election since the party was formed in 1834.
- Pressure on Jeremy Corbyn and senior Labour figures will now emerge for their unequivocal backing of a public vote, after suffering heavy losses. Islington - the home of both Mr Corbyn and Emily Thornberry's constituencies - was lost to the Liberal Democrats.
- Sir Vince Cable - the outgoing Lib Dem leader - will be jubilant this morning, as he party pushed Labour into third place overall, and second place in London. So far the party has been allocated 15 MEPs. They previously had just one MEP.
- Far-right candidate Tommy Robinson failed to secure his seat, after polling just 2.2 per cent of the overall vote in the North West region - finishing eight place behind all the major political parties.
Labour MP David Lammy is absolutely scathing of his party this morning on Radio 4's Today programme.
He says: "Labour should get its act together. We tried to ride two horses and what happened tonight - is that we fell flat on our faces basically with our face pressed against the pavement.
"In this election we have resuscitated the Liberal Democrats, we have handed votes to the Greens. I have to say very worryingly, we have facilitated Nigel Farage's Brexit Party... We lacked clarity.
He's says the country is "crying out for leadership".
"And we're hiding - hiding on the biggest issue of the day. Let me just say in this election we put out poor literature, the election was badly financed.
"It was shocking - It was the worst I've seen in my 20 years of politics. We have to get a grip."
Interesting point here on the Lib Dems' success this morning from the FT's Jim Pickard
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage says "we've topped the poll in a fairly dramatic style". He says the Remain parties still do not accept Brexit.
Farage suggests the party will now stand in a general election, with a full manifesto. "We will have a policy platform".
"The work begins today," he tells Radio 4's Today programme.
Asked if he sticking in it for the long term, he replies: "Absolutely".
Caroline Lucas - the Green Party MP - says clearly people wanted to vote for the Greens because of its unequivocal message on Brexit.
She describes the results as "extraordinary" for her party - after it emerged in fourth place, ahead of Theresa May's Conservatives.
Conservative leadership frontrunner Boris Johnson said the European election results made clear that Tories will be “dismissed from the job of running the country” unless they honour the result of the 2016 EU referendum.
Insisting that it remains possible to strike a new deal with Brussels by the Brexit deadline of October 31, the former foreign secretary said that “no-one sensible” would make a no-deal outcome their explicit aim, but “no-one responsible” would rule it out.
He promised to set out further details of his platform for the leadership in the coming week.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Johnson said: “The message from these results is clear. If we go on like this, we will be fired: dismissed from the job of running the country.
“The only way to avert that outcome is to honour the result of the 2016 referendum, and come out of the EU; and that means doing it properly – not with some frail simulacrum of Brexit, but clearly and sensibly, so that we are able to join every other independent country in being able to set our own tariffs and make our own laws.
“If we fail yet again to discharge that mandate, then I fear we will see a permanent haemorrhage of Conservative support, and loyal voters who have left us to join the Brexit Party (and others) may simply never come back.”
He added: “No-one sensible would aim exclusively for a no-deal outcome. No-one responsible would take no-deal off the table. If we are courageous and optimistic, we can strike a good bargain with our friends across the Channel, come out well and on time – by October 31 – and start delivering on all the hopes and ambitions of the people.”
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