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Greens are London's biggest winners as Labour plunges to fifth in suburbs
Nicholas Cecil and Peter Dominiczak09.06.09
Labour suffered a humiliating rout in the European elections as it was pushed into fifth places in dozens of areas around Britain - although it clung on to second in London.
In the south-east and south-west, Labour was left trailing behind the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, the UK Independence Party and the Greens.
In the capital it finished fifth in Richmond, as well as in a string of suburbs and commuter communities including Epsom and Ewell, Elmbridge, Epping Forest, Guildford, Woking, Wokingham, Bracknell, West Berks, Wycombe, and Windsor & Maidenhead.
Labour saw its support in the capital fall 3.5 per cent to 21.3 per cent, which amid the dismal results from other regions was seen as a crumb of comfort.
The Tories nudged up 0.6 per cent to gain 27.4 per cent, with the Lib-Dems third on 13.7, down 1.6 per cent.
The Greens were the biggest winners among the established parties, up 2.5 per cent to 10.9, while UKIP lost 1.6 per cent, falling to 10.8 per cent.
Despite concerns that London voters would turn to the British National Party, the far-Right party took just 4.9 per cent - up 0.9 per cent but not the breakthrough many feared.
The Conservatives kept three MEPs and Labour was left with two, losing one as the number of MEPs in London was cut from nine to eight, while the Lib-Dems, Greens and UKIP each ended up with one.
Labour MEP Claude Moraes said: "I am personally delighted that Londoners rejected the BNP but we cannot be complacent and must keep working to ensure that they are kept out."
Conservative MEP Dr Charles Tannock said the election moved the party a step closer to being in power nationally.
The Tories had the most votes in all but one English region and pushed Labour into second in Wales, the first time it had lost in the Principality since 1922, its vote dropping 12 per cent.
Labour was beaten by the Conservatives and UKIP across Britain and only managed to just stay ahead of the Lib-Dems, by 15.3 per cent compared to 13.9 per cent, with 63 out of 69 seats declared.
In the south-east, where Labour won crucial backing for its 1997 victory, it was fifth in Ashford, Banstead, Eastborne and Lewes. The Conservatives again took four of the 10 seats after coming in a strong first. UKIP kept its two seats after coming second.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said: "Here we are in a national election coming second and that is an extraordinary result that does send a clear message that Gordon Brown's time is up."
In the south-west the Tories gained one seat to three as Labour lost its only one, while UKIP maintained its two, as did the Lib-Dems their one.
Labour slumped to fifth in areas across East Anglia and the midlands. Its vote also dropped across the north-west and Yorkshire as the BNP took two seats from it.
Labour topped the poll in the north-east, but was outpolled in Scotland by the SNP.
In Fife, the home turf of the Prime Minister, Labour squeaked ahead of the SNP by a 200-vote margin.
TORIES
Dr Charles Tannock, 51. A former consultant psychiatrist and lecturer at University
College Hospital.
Member of cross-party groups working on epilepsy, cervical cancer and mental illness. Before
being elected MEP in 1999, he was a Kensington and Chelsea councillor. He had to give up his medical practice on taking office in Brussels. A graduate of Balliol College, Oxford.
Syed Kamall, 42.
Once touted as a potential London mayoral candidate, he was a Tory candidate for the Greater London Assembly in 2000 and a Conservative candidate for West Ham in the 2001 general election. As an MEP he has called on the Government to introduce British Summer Time in winter in an attempt to cut road accidents and boost leisure activities.
Marina Yannakoudakis, 53.
A new selection to the European Parliament.
Mrs Yannakoudakis will have to juggle the
day job with being a mother of three, school governor and keen saxophonist who also produce sculptures which are donated to charity. She is a Barnet councillor, most recently chairing the authority's greener transport committee.
LABOUR
Claude Moraes, 43.
Committed anti-racism campaigner. Has backed calls for social networking sites such as Facebook to ban groups set up in support of the British National Party. First elected to the European Parliament for London in 1999 and former director of Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants working on refugee cases.
Mary Honeyball, 56.
Labour spokesperson for women's rights in Europe. Has spoken out against “sexist” cosmetic surgery adverts on the Tube and criticised university beauty pageants. First elected to European Parliament in 2000 after 30 years working for the party. Ms Honeyball has been a councillor in Barnet and a school governor.
LIB-DEMS
Sarah Ludford, 58.
A life peer and an MEP since 1999. She is noted for campaigning against the discharge of raw sewage into the Thames and for opposing Heathrow's third runway. She was an Islington councillor for eight years until 1999. A graduate of the LSE and a trained barrister.
GREENS
Jean Lambert, 59.
One of the UK's two Green MEPs. A secondary school teacher by training and a member of the UK Green Party since 1977. As an MEP she tabled a motion to take action against the Government for London's poor air quality. Her stated special interests include refugee rights, anti-discrimination and social inclusion.
UKIP
Gerard Batten, 55.
The party's first London Member of the European Parliament. He was also the party's candidate in the mayoral election last year. Mr Batten hit the headlines following the death of the former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. He had met the Russian several times and said Mr Litvinenko had been warned that his life was in danger shortly before he fell ill.
Reader views (16)
An interesting aspect of the election in London was the 50,000+ votes for the Independent Tamil candidate Jan Jananayagam. Traditionally Sri Lankan Tamils in the UK have been "encouraged" by the LTTE godfathers to support Labour & Liberal Democrat candidates in the constituencies where Tamils are concentrated. This was usually done in return for those candidates not expressing criticism of the activities of the Tamil Tiger terrorists in Sri Lanka or their questionable fund-raising activities in the UK.
She stood as a last minute candidate, no doubt with the encouragement of those same LTTE godfathers, with the intention of punishing Labour and the Liberal Democrat candidates for not doing enough to force the British government to rescue the LTTE leaders when they were surrounded by the Sri Lankan army a few weeks ago. And, looking at the voting figures, she was quite successful in her efforts, although not enough to have made a difference to the final result.
- Candidly, Kandy, Sri Lanka
The reason Loony-Labour hung on in London is because has Ken Livingstone boasts it's a socialist state inside a state. Multicultural, nonsense it's a slum that stinks of urine. It's not the London I've ever known! Nearly all the failed asylum and economic migrants live on welfare. Or given sums of £40k to start a business surrupticiously. It's benefits for votes which is a crime.
In the not to distant future the only people that can afford to live in the capital will be the rich and the benefit breeders on welfare.
This is your chance to wake-up and see what the nasty loonies are doing. They are evil.
- Mike, London
David - London - I'm not.
- Dave Davies, Basingstoke
Voting Green, is like voting for the lunatics to take over the asylum!
- Vince, London, West London
Can anyone enlighten me as to what the Greens party stand for . We know what the Tories support, and what Labour stands for and the rest but what are the "Greens".
T H Leeds
- Thomas Hayes, Leeds UK
Richard K, Nottingham I like the concept of greens but not the delivery. A band of out of control hippies and lesbains run by gays and tree huggers.
Like UKIP are the adult version of the BNP we need an adult version of the greens who will add green tints to policies rather than return us to the stone age.
We algree looking after the planet is good but not to the level of us living in caves
- Ge, Kernow
Dave Davies
Your wrong
- David, London
Interesting to see Claude Moraes is no democrat as he wants to ban people he does not agree with. The Labour seems to be filled with people who are antl-British in their backward attitudes, instead of engaging in debate they try to suffocate it. I just despair at the quality of Labour candidates.
- Richard K, Nottingham
The greens are good for environment but with their support for unlimited immigration what sort of environment will it be for the people of the south east,more people more pollution......i decided for ukip..wish GREENS COULD RETHINK THIS!!!
- Jean Matthews, London England
I voted Green because they bothered to ask me to, their policies appeal to me, and unlike the established parties, they aren't up to their necks in scandal and hypocrisy. Dave and Gary sound like sore losers to me.
- Austen, London
Gary in Brentwood must have been livid when he discovered that women were allowed to vote.
- Miko, London
John Ackers, London - I will defend your right to vote for marginal parties, if you wish to waste them.
- Dave Davies, Basingstoke
Lttle things please little minds members ehh Greens.
Was it the policy to ban petrol mowers as they apparently cause more pollution in the air than cars that won the london voters over.
Or that the Greens would have a defence policy based on international cooperation and conflict prevention.
Seems they need to visit Earth 2009 before they get grand ideas of being elected on mass
- Gary, Brentwood 1
Dave Davies, please don't include me in your sweeping statements. I will decide which way to vote at the time of the General Election.
- John Ackers, London
As a London paper, this is surely the place to congratulate Londoners on their good sense in knocking the lunatic UKIP and the downright villainous BNP into fourth and fifth place respectively in the capital.
Well done all.
- Bob, london
I bet the Greens think this is a major shift and we get their message. Sorry to burst your bubble, but these were only protest votes that will not be repeated in a General Election.
- Dave Davies, Basingstoke
