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Labour edges into second in European election Labour making progress, says Ed Miliband
(about 3 hours later)
Victory in London has edged Labour ahead of the Conservatives in the European elections. Ed Miliband has said Labour's second place in the European elections shows the party is "making progress", but acknowledged it has "further to go".
Ed Miliband's party had hoped to beat UKIP to top the poll but with only Scotland left to declare, it was left in second place. Labour finished behind UKIP but ahead of the Conservatives, while its vote share was up by nearly 10% on 2009.
Labour's share of the vote was up almost 10% on the last polls in 2009. Labour's leader said there was "deep discontent" in the UK and it must show it could "answer the call for change".
Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said it was a "big improvement" but showed that victory in the 2015 general election was "not in the bag". But Mr Miliband said the party would not be changing its position on a referendum on EU membership.
Labour has said it will only hold a public vote if there are any plans for further powers to be transferred from the UK to the EU and opposes the Conservatives' pledge to hold an in-out referendum in 2017.
Labour had hoped to beat UKIP to top the European poll, but with Scotland and Northern Ireland left to declare, it is in second place in terms of total votes.
However, its 25.4% share of the overall vote so far is much higher than the 15.7% it obtained in 2009, after the party came first in Wales, the North West and North East of England, as well as London.
'Desire for change'
It currently has 18 MEPs and the BBC has predicted Labour will gain a further two seats in Scotland when the country declares later on Monday.
Mr Miliband said he was pleased with the results, which follows gains in Thursday's English council elections.
He rejected suggestions Labour should be doing better less than a year before the general election, saying the results proved Labour was continuing to recover support it had lost since 2009.
"We won the local elections. We beat the Tories in the European elections. These elections show Labour making progress. We have further to go and I am absolutely determined we do that."
UKIP's victory was more than a vote about Europe, he said, suggesting it reflected the "deep discontent" among large sections of the population about the way the economy worked and other issues.
He added: "The challenge for Labour is to understand the lessons of these elections and show that we can answer the desire for change."
Mr Miliband said there needed to be change in Europe but he had set out his position on the circumstances in which a referendum would be held and said that would not change in the light of UKIP's performance.
Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said the result showed that victory in the 2015 general election was "not in the bag".
He told the BBC that Labour had not won a European election for more than 20 years and he welcomed the extra scrutiny that UKIP would get as a result of their victory.He told the BBC that Labour had not won a European election for more than 20 years and he welcomed the extra scrutiny that UKIP would get as a result of their victory.
The party came first in Wales, the North West and North East of England, as well as London, and is vying with the SNP for a repeat performance in Scotland. "I believe absolutely we can win the next general election, I believe absolutely that this time next year, Ed Miliband can be our prime minister, but we approach these elections with humility."
The BBC has predicted Labour and the SNP will get two seats in Scotland when the country declares later on Monday. While his party had to take UKIP seriously, he said the public expected more from Labour.
'Did badly' "The challenge for us as prospective parties of government is that we are not treated the same as UKIP, in the sense that people expect us to provide answers, and that's what we are doing," he said.
People cast their votes across the UK on Thursday to elect 73 MEPs in 12 separate regional constituencies. UKIP is set to top the poll, with 23 MEPs and 27.5% of the vote - up 11% on five years ago. The Conservatives are neck and neck with Labour in terms of MEPs but are 3.8% down on their 2009 showing with 24%.
Labour was neck-and-neck with UKIP in opinion polls ahead of the European elections, but instead found itself battling with the Tories for second place. Labour topped the local elections in England on Thursday but fell short of the margin of victory some had said it needs to secure a majority at Westminster. It gained 338 councillors.
Shadow just secretary Sadiq Khan said: "What's really important is to see how we progress bearing in mind how badly we did in 2009."
The Conservatives topped the vote five years ago and UKIP, with 16.5%, came slightly ahead of Labour on 15.7% - its worst night at the polls in modern history.
With only Scotland's results to come, Labour has 18 MEPs, pulling in 25.4% of the votes. It is seven seats up on 2009.
The Conservatives are neck and neck with Labour in terms of MEPs and are 3.8% down on their 2009 showing with 24%.
But UKIP is set to top the poll, with 23 MEPs and 27.5% of the vote - up 11% on five years ago.
Ms Harman said: "People have said they are voting UKIP even if they are a Labour supporter in order to give us a shake-up."
Elsewhere:
Labour topped the local elections in England on Thursday but fell short of the margin of victory some had said it needs to secure a majority at Westminster.
It gained 338 councillors - a result leader Mr Miliband said showed it could win in 2015.