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European elections : a strong performance by anti-European and anti-war protest parties
by Open-Publishing - Monday 14 June 2004Big UK gains for anti-Europe party
By Ben Hall in London
A strong performance by anti-European and anti-war protest parties has dealt a blow to Tony Blair’s Labour and the opposition Conservatives in the European parliament elections.
The United Kingdom Independence party, which is committed to Britain’s immediate and total withdrawal from the European Union, was on course for its strongest performance, well up on 1999 when it won only three seats on the back of a 6.5 per cent share of the vote.
According to a European parliament projection, the UKIP was set to win up to 20 per cent, with Labour and the Conservatives each on 22 per cent of the vote, well down on the 29 and 36 per cent respectively they received five years ago.
But early results suggested UKIP would not do quite so well. After results from four of the 12 regions, the UKIP had secured a 13 per cent share of the vote, Labour won 27 per cent and the Conservatives 24 per cent.
The Liberal Democrats, Britain’s third party and its most pro-European, were set to win 15 per cent, two points higher than in 1999. The Lib Dems used the elections to urge voters to protest against the Iraq war.
The result is another blow for Labour, which slumped to third place in last week’s local elections, becoming the first governing party ever to do so in a national poll, with Iraq becoming a shorthand for the evaporation of trust in Mr Blair across a range of issues.
Cabinet ministers yesterday rallied around the prime minister, insisting the government was not heading for "meltdown" in next year’s expected general election. The Conservatives claimed if they could replicate Thursday’s 12-point lead over Labour they would be in a strong position to form the next government.
But the outcome of the European parliament elections are a bigger blow to the Conservatives.
Michael Howard, the Conservative leader, had been aiming to take 40 per cent of the vote, enough to retain 36 seats.
The rise of the UKIP threatens to reignite the civil war in the Conservative party over Europe, with rightwing Eurosceptics urging Mr Howard to adopt an even harder line and the dwindling number of pro- Europeans urging him to be more positive about the EU.
Turnout, estimated at around 40 per cent, was significantly higher than in 1999, when only 24 per cent bothered to vote.