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| Seven key points from the EU election | Seven key points from the EU election |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| Nigel Farage's party won, but that doesn't mean it will gain power next year | Nigel Farage's party won, but that doesn't mean it will gain power next year |
| Strong showings across the country – Ukip picked up seats in every region they stood in –including a seat in the historically hostile Scotland, meant Ukip comfortably beat the three major parties by a margin of several hundred thousand votes. | Strong showings across the country – Ukip picked up seats in every region they stood in –including a seat in the historically hostile Scotland, meant Ukip comfortably beat the three major parties by a margin of several hundred thousand votes. |
| Good as the result is for the party, though, it's possible to overstate the importance of this result. | Good as the result is for the party, though, it's possible to overstate the importance of this result. |
| European polls do not readily translate readily into Westminster ones. In 2009, Ukip came second with 16.5% of the vote, but returned zero MPs in the following year's general election, and collected just 3% of the vote. | European polls do not readily translate readily into Westminster ones. In 2009, Ukip came second with 16.5% of the vote, but returned zero MPs in the following year's general election, and collected just 3% of the vote. |
| The Lib Dems came in fifth place and lost all (but one) of their seats | The Lib Dems came in fifth place and lost all (but one) of their seats |
| The Liberal Democrats had an awful night. Not only are they projected to lose all but one of their MEPs, they polled behind the fourth-placed Green party in every single one of the UK regions bar the West Midlands. In Wales they came sixth. | |
| There are two things that make this particularly bad for Nick Clegg's party: firstly, the Lib Dems lost their long-serving MEP in the South West. Sir Graham Watson lost by a teeth-grinding 0.4 percentage points of the overall vote. | There are two things that make this particularly bad for Nick Clegg's party: firstly, the Lib Dems lost their long-serving MEP in the South West. Sir Graham Watson lost by a teeth-grinding 0.4 percentage points of the overall vote. |
| The second point is that if we look at participation in parliamentary votes, the Lib Dem MEPs were technically the hardest working major UK party in Europe - elbow grease gets you nowhere, these days... | The second point is that if we look at participation in parliamentary votes, the Lib Dem MEPs were technically the hardest working major UK party in Europe - elbow grease gets you nowhere, these days... |
| Other independence parties did damage Ukip's vote (but only slightly) | Other independence parties did damage Ukip's vote (but only slightly) |
| There was some annoyance from Ukip that they featured towards the end of the ballot paper, with some fear that voters may opt for one of the similarly named parties. | There was some annoyance from Ukip that they featured towards the end of the ballot paper, with some fear that voters may opt for one of the similarly named parties. |
| In one region at least, they may have had a point. "An Independence from Europe", a splinter group formed by an ex-Ukip MEP, took 23,000 votes in the South West. | In one region at least, they may have had a point. "An Independence from Europe", a splinter group formed by an ex-Ukip MEP, took 23,000 votes in the South West. |
| If those votes had gone to Ukip instead then they would have comfortably taken the region's sixth seat ahead of the Green party. This is especially galling for Farage's party as the splinter group's alphabetical listing netted it top billing on the ballot, leading one or two of the party's online supporters to suggest "An Independence from Europe" was a "LibLabCon" conspiracy. | If those votes had gone to Ukip instead then they would have comfortably taken the region's sixth seat ahead of the Green party. This is especially galling for Farage's party as the splinter group's alphabetical listing netted it top billing on the ballot, leading one or two of the party's online supporters to suggest "An Independence from Europe" was a "LibLabCon" conspiracy. |
| There's no such thing as a famous MEP...well apart from Nigel that is | There's no such thing as a famous MEP...well apart from Nigel that is |
| Unlike their Westminster colleagues, being a senior figure in the European parliament seems to offer little protection at the ballot box. | Unlike their Westminster colleagues, being a senior figure in the European parliament seems to offer little protection at the ballot box. |
| There were some relatively big MEPs felled in this year's election. The longest serving UK MEP, Lib Dem Bill Newton Dunn in the East Midlands, was no way near retaining his seat. | There were some relatively big MEPs felled in this year's election. The longest serving UK MEP, Lib Dem Bill Newton Dunn in the East Midlands, was no way near retaining his seat. |
| Also departing from their seats in the North East are the current European Conservatives and Reformists chairman Martin Callanan and the Lib Dem leader in Europe Fiona Hall. | Also departing from their seats in the North East are the current European Conservatives and Reformists chairman Martin Callanan and the Lib Dem leader in Europe Fiona Hall. |
| London loved Labour | |
| A strong showing in the local elections by Labour in London was mirrored in the European parliament results. | |
| They gained two extra MEPs in the capital, taking their total to four with a huge 15 percentage point swing. | |
| The raw numbers make that even more impressive. In the 2009 election, Labour got 372,000 votes, roughly what Ukip got this time round to come third. In 2014, Labour got a huge 806,000 votes. | |
| The Liberal Democrats' loss was the Green Party's gain | The Liberal Democrats' loss was the Green Party's gain |
| The Greens look set to have a good night: they're set to increase their total number of MEPs to an expected total of three. The party is also expected to take fourth place nationally from the Liberal Democrats | The Greens look set to have a good night: they're set to increase their total number of MEPs to an expected total of three. The party is also expected to take fourth place nationally from the Liberal Democrats |
| Not a bad night at all for the party, but even better considering that the on a national level the Green's share of the vote was actually a little bit down – by one percentage point. | Not a bad night at all for the party, but even better considering that the on a national level the Green's share of the vote was actually a little bit down – by one percentage point. |
| That was mostly because of the huge slip in the Lib Dem vote in the South West, where the Greens made an extra seat with an upwards swing of just two percentage points. | That was mostly because of the huge slip in the Lib Dem vote in the South West, where the Greens made an extra seat with an upwards swing of just two percentage points. |
| In politics, sometimes it's enough just to stay still while your rival falls down. | In politics, sometimes it's enough just to stay still while your rival falls down. |
| And finally Labour (and the Consevatives) made history... | And finally Labour (and the Consevatives) made history... |
| Labour became the first opposition party not to win the European election polls since Neil Kinnock's Labour failed to win in 1984. Even William Hague's Conservative party, who flopped in the general election, managed to beat the then ruling Labour party in 1999. | Labour became the first opposition party not to win the European election polls since Neil Kinnock's Labour failed to win in 1984. Even William Hague's Conservative party, who flopped in the general election, managed to beat the then ruling Labour party in 1999. |
| Although Labour made big gains on their dire 15.7% and 13 MEPs in 2009's slump, Labour failed to set much distance between themselves and the Tories this time round. Ukip's win also means it's the first time in modern history that neither Labour or the Conservative party have not won a national election. | Although Labour made big gains on their dire 15.7% and 13 MEPs in 2009's slump, Labour failed to set much distance between themselves and the Tories this time round. Ukip's win also means it's the first time in modern history that neither Labour or the Conservative party have not won a national election. |