Elections!

[mongers]

They're just about to declare the SW results from Poole, one of my local towns and no doubt a future UKIP stronghold.

[Sheilbh]

They're just about to declare the SW results from Poole, one of my local towns and no doubt a future UKIP stronghold.

And a former Lib Dem stronghold.

If they've got any hope of coming ahead of the Greens (four in a row behind them now) surely it'll be in the South West

[The Larch]

What's the voting system? Or party funding?

Respectively, rigged and opaque.

[Agelastus]

Jesus!

Did I just hear the Lib Dems beaten by the Greens in the south-west!

[Sheilbh]

If they've got any hope of coming ahead of the Greens (four in a row behind them now) surely it'll be in the South West

Nope. Five for five:

SOUTH WEST:
UKIP: 484,184
Con: 433,151
Lab: 206,124
Green: 166,447
LD: 160,376

What's amazing is the Greens aren't doing that well. Their vote hasn't increased too much. But the Lib Dems are just crashing catastrophically

Edit: Also interesting as Bogdanor's pointing out the Lib Dems actually made their campaign about Europe. They were saying 'we're the pro-Europe party' and Clegg debated Farage on TV. It has not worked out

[mongers]

They're just about to declare the SW results from Poole, one of my local towns and no doubt a future UKIP stronghold.

And a former Lib Dem stronghold.

If they've got any hope of coming ahead of the Greens (four in a row behind them now) surely it'll be in the South West

Former seems to be the operative word, Poole North/Mid-Dorset had a very good Lib dem MP, pillar of the community, but I think retirement and boundary changes have helped it along to its now former status.

[Agelastus]

UKIP second in Wales.

I didn't expect that.

Edit: Which apparently may be ignorance on my part as the MEPs haven't changed. Although it does look like the Tories are taking the most damage share-wise in Wales.

[Liep]

Yellow is nationalists, only the two big cities went left. Scattered blue are farmers or rich ghettos.

[Sheilbh]

But Cornwall been liberal homeland since Gladstone. It was one of the Celtic fringes they retreated to in the mid-20th century.

UKIP second in Wales

[celedhring]

You brits, didn't you hold this election like two days ago? And you haven't counted yet?

[Sheilbh]

Yellow is nationalists, only the two big cities went left. Scattered blue are farmers or rich ghettos.

What's beige in the south-east there?

[Liep]

Yellow is nationalists, only the two big cities went left. Scattered blue are farmers or rich ghettos.

What's beige in the south-east there?

Not counted fully yet, but leaning nationalists.

EDIT: And the island of Bornholm went left as well as it's front candidate's constituency.

[Maladict]

In the Netherlands the Socialists overtook Labour for the first time ever

The Socialists did get slightly more votes, but less seats because Labour joined with the Greens.

[Sheilbh]

You brits, didn't you hold this election like two days ago? And you haven't counted yet?

Yeah. We always vote on Thursday but Europe votes on Sunday. So we don't count (or have exit polls) until the rest of Europe has voted because the results could get out and could influence the vote elsewhere in Europe.

[Agelastus]

You brits, didn't you hold this election like two days ago? And you haven't counted yet?

Not allowed to give the results until the voting has ended in Europe.

I don't think we're even allowed to start counting.

About a third of Europe votes ahead of Sunday but everything has to be released at the same time.