UKIP claims East Midlands as its heartland

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UKIP's share of the vote was higher in the East Midlands than anywhere else in the country Credit: Gareth Fuller/PA

The East Midlands became UKIP's heartland last night, with a share of the vote higher than it achieved in any other region.

A third of voters backed Nigel Farage's anti-EU message, returning Roger Helmer and Margot Parker to Strasbourg as UKIP MEPs.

The Conservatives came second, so sitting MEP Emma McClarkin will be joined by Andrew Lewer in the European Parliament.

The fifth East Midlands MEP is Labour's Glenis Willmott who successfully defended her seat, but Labour will be deeply disappointed with third place. Earlier in the evening, they had said they were "quietly confident" of coming second.

The Liberal Democrats came fifth behind the Greens, losing MEP Bill Newton-Dunn. He had been the longest serving British MEP. The party now has no Lib Dem representative in the region above local council level.

A particularly significant result came in Newark which will vote in a Westminster by-election in two weeks. The town forms part of the Newark and Sherwood district in the European Elections, and here UKIP topped the poll. Although the district takes in other areas of Nottinghamshire and is not a "like-for-like" comparison, it will certainly boost UKIP hopes of overturning a huge Conservative majority in Newark and returning their first ever MP to Westminster.

UKIP performed strongly across the region, but did best in Lincolnshire where it achieved more than half of the votes in towns like Boston and Skegness. It's widely expected that a number of their twenty "target seats" at the General Election next year will be in that area.

Elsewhere, UKIP topped the poll in a number of key Conservative marginals which could indicated problems for the Tories next year. With more than half of UKIP voters estimated to be former Tory supporters, there is a chance UKIP might spilt the vote and help Labour to win in areas like Loughborough and Erewash.

Labour did best in the large cities, convincingly topping the poll in Nottingham and maintaining its dominant position in Leicester where it won more than half of all votes. But the party performed below expectations in other parts of the region.