Europe Votes: The UK, Big wins for the Brexit Party but pro-EU parties make huge gains
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The Brexit Party led by Nigel Farage was on course to win Britain’s European election — but there was huge surge for the pro-EU Liberal Democrats.
Both the governing Conservatives and main opposition Labour Party suffered huge losses, losing most of the seats held since the last election.
There was also a surge in support for pro-EU nationalist parties, particularly in Scotland where the SNP was on course to gain a number of seats.
In at least two regions, the Conservatives won no seats at all while Labour was facing a backlash over an ambiguous policy that has seen it torn over whether to support a new referendum that could halt Brexit.
In northeast England, the first of the U.K.’s 12 regions to report, the Brexit Party got 39% of the vote.
Farage’s party, which is barely a few weeks old, picked up almost all the votes that went to his former party, UKIP, in 2014.
The Liberal Democrats, campaigning to stop Brexit, more than doubled their share to 17% of the vote.
Britain is participating in the EU election because it is still a member of the bloc, but the lawmakers it elects will only sit in the European Parliament until Brexit. That is currently scheduled for Oct. 31.
