Today is a bright sunny bank holiday - at least where I live. Something tells me that it is also a bright sunny bank holiday for Nigel Farage - but of course I am not referring to the weather.
The results are now in, and UKIP has won more votes and more MEPs than any other party. Labour is in second place on both vote share and seats won. This is possibly the first time ever that the Conservative Party has not polled either first place or second place in a nationwide ballot in this country. It is also - if I've got it right - the first time since 1918 that the top two places in a nationwide ballot in this country have not been taken by the Labour Party and the Conservative Party.
It is all the more remarkable when you consider the UKIP has never had a single MP, and has never previously enjoyed the status above that of a fourth party. It is not that many years ago that the British National Party was routinely humiliating UKIP in council elections up and down the country, but now the tables are turned. The BNP has retained not one single deposit, and won not one single seat.
UKIP's continued success will depend upon a number of factors. First, it will depend on the extent to which the Conservative Party and the Labour Party adjust their policies so as to appeal to the millions of people who rebelled by voting UKIP. Another factor is the extent to which Nigel Farage can keep his party's MEPs and councillors on his team. His past record of achievement in this respect has been pretty poor.
Another factor is that the decline of the BNP may allow another political party with similar views but more effective leadership to emerge and challenge the dominance of UKIP among disgruntled members of the electorate.
But for the time being, Nigel Farage enjoys his pint of beer in the sunshine.
There were also many interesting developments elsewhere in Europe, as outlined in this Heritage and Destiny report.
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