Another night of Labour humiliation ; Established 1827

Summary

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IT IS always rash to assume in politics that things cannot get any worse. For those Labour activists who thought that way after a week of resignations and the party's collapse in the local elections, last night's European results were proof that the party could indeed plumb new depths. Once it would have seemed inconceivable that Labour could come third after the universally derided Ukip, with a mere 15.3 per cent of the vote, but it did; once it seemed that the Tories would never again gain a seat in Wales, yet last night it overtook Labour there for the first time since 1918. As for the BNP gaining two seats in the European parliament, largely thanks to disaffected Labour voters, this was not so much humiliating as downright worrying.

For the Tories, last night's showing was good -- but by no means outstanding. Their voted dipped under 30 per cent, and while they finished a comfortable 13.3 points ahead of Labour, they lost a large number of votes to Ukip. Plainly the expenses scandal hit them as well as Labour. But David Cameron should beware of seeing Ukip's surge as a one-off: it will take votes off the Tories at the next general election, too, at the same time as keeping Europe alive as a divisive issue in the Conservative Party. Meanwhile, for the Liberal Democrats this was a slightly disappointing night: despite the plunge in the major parties' votes, the traditional beneficiaries of the protest vote picked up just one extra seat.

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Another night of Labour humiliation ; Established 1827

In some ways, London bucked the trend. Labour kept in second place ...

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