The UK Independence party has established itself as a political force after finishing second in the European elections, its leader claimed today.
Nigel Farage said the result proved its showing in 2004 had been no fluke, and paved the way for a sustained challenge at the next general election. "This strong result confirms we are a serious force on the UK political scene."
In 2004 the party got 16.2% of the vote and 12 MEPs. This time its share rose to 17.4% and it has 13 MEPs, although the total number of MEPs from the United Kingdom has fallen from 78 to 72. Ukip performed strongly in the north-west, where it increased its share of the vote by 3.7 percentage points to 15.8% and missed out on claiming a second MEP in the region by a few hundred votes. The party lost one seat in the east Midlands but gained one in Wales and went up from one to two in the West Midlands, where it saw a 3.8-point increase on its 2004 performance.
Party activists said Ukip would have done much better if the issue of European, rather than British, politicians' expenses had dominated the campaign.
