UKIP top across Lincolnshire in European elections for East Midlands
| Posted: May 25, 2014
(l-r) UKIP's Roger Helmer, Conservative Emma McClarkin, UKIP's Margot Parker, Conservative Andrew Lewer and Labour's Glenis Willmott
UKIP came top in votes for the European elections across all seven districts of Lincolnshire, during tonight's results.
The party won two of the five MEP seats for the East Midlands.
The Conservatives also came out strong with two East Midlands seats, followed by one for Labour.
UKIPs Roger Helmer took the first MEP spot, and Margot Parker was re-elected.
The Conservative’s Emma McClarkin has been re-elected, and Andrew Lewer also took a seat for the party.
Glenis Willmott took the final MEP seat for Labour.
However vote numbers tonight revealed a landslide for UKIP in Lincolnshire itself.
The party had more votes than all other European election parties in the East Midlands, and in each of Lincolnshire's seven districts.
UKIP’s Roger Helmer said: “This has been a fantastic night. We expected to come top, we hoped to come top, we worked to come top and we said we thought we could come top but even I didn’t expect that we are so far ahead as we are, it is just an amazing result.
“It sends a huge message to everyone, that’s the important thing. These votes actually count.
“We are pulling at people that haven’t voted for years.”
He said it is difficult to link Lincolnshire to the EU, but said there are issues he is keen to take up.
“If you take Lincolnshire it’s a strong agricultural area, we are very concerned about agriculture,” he said.
“Boston used to have a fishing fleet, last time I was there I was told they had about three boats if they still have those.
"We want our fisheries back, we want out of the European Union, we want our international waters under international law and we want to manage our own fish telling people in Brussels telling us how to do it.”
Conservative MEP Emma McClarkin said it was a hard campaign but was pleased with the party's two seat result.
“I am honoured to have been re-elected to serve the people of the East Midlands along with my other colleague Andrew Miller, and I know he will work hard and be a strong voice for the East Midlands in Brussels," she said.
“This has been a hard campaign and tonight we have much to celebrate, but we have also much to reflect on.
“We have serious work to do, to prove that we have listened to the people and to their concerns.
“UKIP have not diminished us and will never diminish the Conservative party.”
Glenis Willmott, who had the last of the five MEP seats for Labour, said: "I have had the best team of candidates to work with that I have ever had on a European election, every single one of them deserved to be elected and I am sorry we didn't get our number two Rory Palmer.
"It has been a disappointing result, there is no doubt.
"But as a Labour MEP I will continue to work hard."
2 comments
This EU project will not bring hardly any prosperity for 90% of the people of Europe including the UK (indeed economic decline has been the case for nearly 10-years now in real terms taking inflation into account - basically has been going the same way as Japan with 20-years of economic stagnation), but just for the 10% rich as usual (that's why the politicians are leading us down the garden path as the servants of the mighty corporations). Indeed the cost to the EU taxpayer is astronomical and where every one of the 751 MEPs can receive €615,660 a year and look forward to a lump sum pension pot of €303,195. That's times 751 of course and where it is a mere drop in the ocean of the total cost of the EU. Some main-stream media outlets have said incredibly up 1000 billion Euro a year ! But where 'Translation' cost alone are running at over €1 billion a year. http://tinyurl.com/kczq589
Maybe now the other parties will start listening to the voters for a change - though I very much doubt it.