On 22nd May 2014 Britain went to the polls to elect members of the European Parliament.
The campaign was largely focussed on those who argued Britain should leave the European Union completely and that an in/out referendum should be held as soon as possible (UKIP). Those who would like to hold a referendum in 2017 where the British public would choose whether to adopt a package of reforms (Conservatives) and those who would like to remain in the EU but hold referendums on future major treaties (Labour).
| Party | Number of MEPs | Share of the Vote %
|
% Change | |
| UK Independence Party | 24 | + 11 | 27.49 | + 10.99 |
| Labour Party | 20 | + 7 | 25.40 | + 9.67 |
| Conservative Party | 19 | – 7 | 23.93 | – 3.80 |
| Green Party | 3 | + 1 | 7.87 | – 0.75 |
| Liberal Democrats | 1 | – 10 | 6.87 | – 6.88 |
| Plaid Cymru | 1 | 0 | 0.71 | – 0.13 |
| Scottish National Party | 2 | 0 | 2.46 | 0.34 |
| British National Party | 0 | – 2 | 1.14 | – 5.10 |
UKIP had a very good night topping, as Nigel Farage their leader predicted, the polls and causing a ‘political earthquake’.
Farage’s party received the highest number of votes despite not having a single Member of Parliament. There were also seats gained in Scotland and Wales. UKIP used the results as momentum for a by-election in the Newark constituency where they came second. Since the European Elections in May, two Members of Parliament have defected from the Conservative Party to UKIP and won by-elections in Clacton and Rochester and Strood constituencies.
Labour, who did not advocate a referendum on membership of the European Union, had a good result in London saw an increase overall but it was widely thought that the party needed to go back to the drawing board on their key messages.
It was a good night for the Green Party, they pushed the Liberal Democrats into fifth place and picked up a new Green MEP.
The Conservative Party lost ground and Members of the European Union. Their message at the election was to start negotiating with Europe and offer a referendum on a package of measures in 2017. This issue, particularly EU immigration, dominated the party since May 2014.
The British National Party, to the delight of the other political parties, lost both of their MEPs.
The biggest losses on the night were for the Liberal Democrats who lost 10 of their 11 MEPs, one more than their President thought they would get. Criticism immediately after the result was focussed on leader, Nick Clegg with some of his party saying it is not the message but the messenger that is the problem. After an initial rumour of resignation Clegg remained leader of the Liberal Democrat Party.
The Local Elections were held on the same day. The results were mixed for the mainstream parties and mirrored a definite surge in support across the country for UKIP.
You can visit our Local Elections 2014 page for some key results.
