As it happened: European election live blog

A total of 31 results are in out of Scotland’s 32 seats with the Wester Isles due to return their vote on Monday.
Ballot boxes are brought out of storage at Parliament House in Edinburgh. Picture: Jane BarlowBallot boxes are brought out of storage at Parliament House in Edinburgh. Picture: Jane Barlow
Ballot boxes are brought out of storage at Parliament House in Edinburgh. Picture: Jane Barlow

RESULTS - 31 out of 32 seats declared

SNP 2 Labour 2 Conservative 1 Ukip 1

Labour 25.9%

SNP 28.9&

Ukip 10.4%

Con 25.9%

Lib Dems 7.1%

Green 8.1%

(Western Isles to be declared on Monday)

UPDATES

01:30am: Mr Salmond was last night upbeat about his party’s performance despite the Ukip surge.

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“We are exactly where we were five years ago and we went on from there to win a landslide election. After seven years in Government we are going to win another election in Scotland and that’s not too bad a

performance.”

Mr Salmond then claimed that there was a “world of difference” between Ukip coming fourth in Scotland behind the SNP, Labour and Tories than Mr Farage’s triumph in England.

01:00am: Scotsman sources have confirmed that SNP candidate SNP’s Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh has conceded that the party will not pick up up a third seat and that the seat has gone to Ukip. Ukip has now claimed its first seat in Scotland.

12:45am: Comment from David Torrance: “Although the SNP went into the election with two seats and emerged with the same pair, Ukip’s success is profoundly damaging for a central element of the pro-independence narrative: that Ukip’s rise south of the Border proved that England and Scotland were countries moving in different directions, not just in electoral terms but when it came to a generally vague sense of “Scottish values”.”

12:30am: David Coburn, UKIP’s MEP candidate said at the count in Edinburgh: “I think there a lot of Scots fed up with the usual suspects.

“Scots are no different from the English despite what Mr Salmond thinks. There are the same problems up here as there are down there, and people want proper solutions and that’s what I’ll be doing.

“I think it has gone more or less the way I thought, from talking to people on doorsteps they want change. It was just a question of how many people were going to get up and put the cross on the ballot paper.

“I want to see UKIP candidates from Scotland in Westminster and in Holyrood. It won’t happen tomorrow, but I would think that it’s not beyond reach.”

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12:20am: It is looking highly likely tha Ukip have secured their first seat in Scotland having secured over 10 per cent of the vote with only the Western Isles still to declare on Monday.

11:50: Nick Clegg should not face a leadership challenge despite a “staggeringly disappointing” European election result, party president Tim Farron has insisted.

11:30pm: Andrew Whitaker @AndrewWhitaker3: After 27 Councils have declared in Scotland, and with only four more to declare, the results are Ukip 10.3, Lab 25.7, Snp 28.8, Con 18.3, Lib Dems 6.8 and Green 7.7

11:20pm: The SNP remained top in Scotland, after 22 of 32 councils declared, with 266,695 votes; Labour second with 238,428; Conservatives third (165,220); Ukip fourth (94,919); Scottish Green Party fifth (72,241); Liberal Democrats sixth (59,303).

11:15pm: Vote count so far in Scotland’s council areas: Labour 26%, SNP 29%, Ukip 10.3%, Con 18%, Ld 6.5% and Greens 7.9%

11:00pm: Nigel Farage claimed victory tonight as Ukip appeared on track to top the European Parliament polls, declaring the result was an “earthquake” in British politics.

10:50pm: Andrew Whitaker @AndrewWhitaker3: After 17 councils declared. Ukip on 10.3 per cent. Labour 25.2, SNP 29.3, Lib Dems on 6.5 and Tories on 18.2

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10:35pm: Tom Peterkin @TomPeterkin: Not quite the final turn out figure - Western Isles votes have yet to be counted - but over 31 of Scotland’s 32 councils turn out is 33.5 per cent.

10:35pm: Andrew Whitaker @AndrewWhitaker3: The SNP secures 140,333 votes in first 11 councils declared.

Ukip 51,743. Labour 122,244

10:30pm: Tom Peterkin @TomPeterkin: David Coburn, the candidate at the top of Ukip’s list in Scotland, has

arrived at the count. He reckons he has a good chance of winning a

seat. Not long until we find out.

10:30pm: Andrew Whitaker @AndrewWhitaker3: Glasgow turnout below national average. Just 28.2 per cent in glasgow.

10:15pm: National Front France’s ‘leading party’ according to exit polls

10:05pm: Tom Peterkin @TomPeterkin: Sky news reporting that Tories, Conservative and Lib Dem sources believe that Ukip have won the UK European election - even though results have yet to be declared. There will be a different outcome north of the border, of course, where the SNP are almost certain to emerge as the largest party. The big question in Scotland is whether Alex Salmond can increase his representation from two to three seats.

Also being keenly watched is Ukip’s performance in Scotland.

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21:50pm: Tom Peterkin @TomPeterkin: Journalists at the Edinburgh count say the rumour is that the SNP have done enough to win a third European seat - this rumour is a long way from being confirmed as no results have been declared yet. But, if proved true, it would be a boost to Alex Salmond as he heads into thefinal stretch before the independence referendum.

21:45pm: Edinburgh-based Labour MSP Kezia Dugdale tweeting that the Edinburgh Euro election results will be known at around 10 pm.

21:30pm: Tom Peterkin @TomPeterkin: Turn out figures up in Scotland when compared with the last European election - suggesting that the country is becoming more engaged with politics as the independence referendum approaches.

I am told that an interested bystander at the Edinburgh count at Meadowbank Stadium does not believe that the Ukip votes are piling up in the capital at least. Will have to wait four an hour or so to see if he is proved correct.

21:15pm: Andrew Whitaker @AndrewWhitaker3: More than a third of Scots turned out to vote in the European elections in what is the final Scotland test of opinion before the independence referendum.

Turnout results for the European Parliament elections appeared to show that about 34 per cent of Scotland’s populations had voted in the poll.

The bulk of Scotland’s 32 councils published their turnout figures showing the results.

21:00pm Turnout in the UK was 36%, the European Parliament said, up from 34.7% at the last European Parliament polls in 2009.

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Across the EU it was 43.11% - marginally ahead of the 43% registered five years ago.

20:20pm: Scottish Borders council say provisional turnout for the European elections in Scottish Borders is 35.9%. Around 5% up on last count in 2009.

20:15PM: European election turnout in Edinburgh averaged impressive 41.6% - up from 35.5% last time.

The results of each of Scotland’s council areas will be announced from 10pm with the full result being declared on Monday once the Western Isles vote has been counted.

Voting took place on Thursday but results will not be announced until after polls close in other European Union member states.

Scotland will elect 6 MEPs out of the UK’s 73.

MEPs in Scotland, England and Wales are elected under the “closed list” proportional representation method which means votes are cast for a political party rather than an individual candidate.

Candidates are selected from a ranked list of candidates selected by each party.

Seats are allocated to parties in proportion to the amount of votes they received.

In Northern Ireland, the Single Transferable Vote system is used.

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