EU elections in the East of England - politicians give their verdicts

Politicians have given their reaction to the results of the EU elections in the East of England.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The Brexit Party came top with 37.8 per cent of the vote, ahead of the Lib Dems which took 22.6 per cent.

The Green Party came third ahead of the Conservatives and Labour which both suffered big losses.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

UKIP fell from first in the last European elections in 2014 to seventh this time around, behind Change UK.

Votes being counted in PeterboroughVotes being counted in Peterborough
Votes being counted in Peterborough

The result meant in the region the Brexit Party took three seats in the European Parliament, with the Lib Dems taking two and the Conservatives and Greens both taking one each.

For the Green Party it was their first ever seat in the region.

The Brexit Party’s candidate for the upcoming Peterborough by-election Mike Greene tweeted: “Brexit Party gets nearly 4x as many votes as conservatives, and more than 4x as many votes as Labour in the Eastern Region EU Elections.... lets take that same message to Peterborough by-election.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Lib Dem candidate Beki Sellick said her party was “on a roll” in Peterborough and that “voters tell me Brexit is the biggest issue here.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

New Green MEP Catherine Rowett said: “This is a vote for real change, and it reflects the view of thousands of voters who want to see a different kind of politics. As Greens we have put forward a clear position to remain in the EU, to work across borders on the climate emergency, and to secure a better future for people and planet.

“Our task now is to do what we have been elected to do. With my fellow Green MEPs I will begin this huge and important task from tomorrow.

“Right now, we must simply send our very sincere thanks to everyone who had the courage to vote with their heart and their head, in the conviction that we need a different politics.”

Labour’s MEP Alex Mayer, who lost her seat after tonight’s vote count, tweeted that she was “deeply disappointed” with the result.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She added: “It was a privilege to serve as your MEP. Thank you to everyone who helped in the campaign. Setbacks should make us more determined to campaign even harder so we win power to put our socialist values into action.”