BNP lands first seat on European Parliament
Gordon Brown's hopes of political survival were dealt another blow as the far right British National Party tonight achieved a major electoral breakthrough gaining their first seat in the European Parliament.
The BNP took the last of the six seats in Yorkshire and the Humber sending shockwaves through the mainstream political parties.
There will be dismay among Labour MPs that the party's vote has fallen so sharply that it has opened the door for the far right and it will intensify the pressure for a leadership challenge.
Health Secretary Andy Burnham said that it was "deeply uncomfortable" to see the BNP polling in such large numbers.
He said that they had been the beneficiaries of an "anti-politics mood" which had hit all the main parties in the wake of the MPs' expenses scandal.
"It is a sad moment in British politics," he said. "The BNP is like the ultimate protest vote. It is how to deliver the establishment a two-fingered salute. I think largely it is a comment on Westminster politics."
The BNP took the seat from Labour which saw its share of the vote in the region drop by 8% on the last European elections in 2004.
