Labour has won the most votes in the North-East of England at the European Elections, but its share of the vote is down 9% on 2004. It comes as Labour braces itself for what Welsh Secretary Peter Hain predicts will be a "terrible" night. If the 9% decline in votes is repeated elsewhere, it will add to the pressure on Gordon Brown who has vowed to stay in office despite calls to go. Counting of votes is nearing completion with more results expected shortly. Speaking to the BBC earlier the Labour former minister Nick Raynsford said the county council elections had been "disastrous" and he expected the European elections to be "even worse". On the basis of the limited number of council declarations so far, the Conservative vote will be down a little, UKIP will be up, Labour will slip into third place and may be struggling to hold that against the Lib Dems whose vote seems to be holding up
It comes as Labour braces itself for what Welsh Secretary Peter Hain predicts will be a "terrible" night.
If the 9% decline in votes is repeated elsewhere, it will add to the pressure on Gordon Brown who has vowed to stay in office despite calls to go.
Counting of votes is nearing completion with more results expected shortly.
Speaking to the BBC earlier the Labour former minister Nick Raynsford said the county council elections had been "disastrous" and he expected the European elections to be "even worse".
On the basis of the limited number of council declarations so far, the Conservative vote will be down a little, UKIP will be up, Labour will slip into third place and may be struggling to hold that against the Lib Dems whose vote seems to be holding up
If 20% is the make-or-break for Brown, it's over tonight. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
There are rumours sweeping the parliament - and I stress only rumours at this stage - that eurosceptic UKIP has done stunningly well. One suggestion is that they have come second, with 18 seats. If true, Mr Farage will have a very big smile on his face tonight.
