Can't quite put my finger on it, but..........I still have this kind built-in antipathy for a man called Nigel, who wears a three-quarter overcoat with a velvet collar.

The BBC has a detailed account of results, including by region (currently missing Scotland and Northern Ireland which are still counting - so some of the "zero seats" entries for smaller parties like the Scottish SNP are preliminary). 31.6 percent for the Brexit Party is at the lower end of predictions, but still impressive for a group that didn't exist six months ago. They also were the strongest party in all region counted so far except the City of London, which is no surprise given the latter's socio-economics, particularly financial trade which is vulnerable to Brexit effects.

Logically, the anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats are the strongest force there. They actually exceeded expectations slightly at 20.3 percent nationally, and seem to have increased their number of seats from just one to 15. The anti-Brexit camp, including the Greens, is also strong in the South West, South East, North West and East of England, where it won a combined number of seats equaling the Brexit Party's respectively. The same is true for the national popular vote, once more showing the polarization on Brexit.

The BBC conveniently also has charts on overall results of the European elections, based upon the current state of counting and projections. For orientation, the pro-European camp reaches from the Social Democratic S & D (bright red) to the Christian Democratic EPP (light blue). The eurosceptic camp includes the far Left (dark red) and conservative ECR (dark blue, biggest national parties being the British Conservatives and Polish PiS). Note that the far Right will reorganize in the next parliament, with most national parties from the EFD joining those of the ENF to form the new bigger European Alliance of Peoples and Nations.

The Brexit Party is currently seen to stay in the (also to-be-renamed) EFD with the Italian Five Stars. Movement. The current count also still includes the Hungarian Fidesz in the EPP, though its membership is currently suspended and it is being speculated to join the ECR, or possibly even the EAPN.

quote:

Originally posted by tacfoley:
Can't quite put my finger on it, but..........I still have this kind built-in antipathy for a man called Nigel, who wears a three-quarter overcoat with a velvet collar.

Tac, as I recall, as an expat, such coats were quite 1960’s and Nigel was a very popular name in the 1950’s or there about...

Grab 'em by the nose, and kick 'em in the ass! That's how you win. Congrats Mr. Farage!

https://www.breitbart.com/euro...s-lead-eu-elections/

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Originally posted by mbinky:
https://www.breitbart.com/euro...s-lead-eu-elections/

quote:

Farage Declares ‘This Is Just the Beginning’ After Brexit Party Victory in EU Elections

Nigel Farage has led the Brexit Party to victory while the establishment parties are left assessing the damage after their historic losses, with the Brexiteer declaring: “This is just the beginning.”

With almost all regions counted, the Brexit Party is in the clear lead after winning around one-third of the vote and projected to have gained 29 seats. In a distant second, the pro-Remain Liberal Democrats won 15 seats, while the new Change UK (CUK), established solely to stop Brexit, failed to gain a single seat.

“Never before in British politics has a party just 6 weeks old won a national election,” Mr Farage posted to Twitter Monday morning. “If Britain does not leave the EU on October 31st, these results will be repeated at a general election.

[...]

That's a rather tall order. The original UKIP never had a candidate elected to the British parliament, even though they also were the strongest UK party in the 2014 European elections, with two national general elections since.

First, members of the House of Commons are elected on a district-based first-past-the-post system like in the US, which can skew the popular vote considerably and prefers established big parties over smaller ones. By contrast, the UK elects MEPs by proportional vote in twelve regions, with distribution of seats more closely mirroring popular vote results, making it easier for new and small parties to win seats.

Second, European elections used to be "elections that don't matter", since the European Parliament had little power; so turnout was typically low, and people used the occasion to protest-vote against their national governments with few consequences. While that perception has changed in the last five years, for the UK this was essentially a single-issue vote on Brexit. A general election would be different, and right now the Brexit Party has no platform beyond "leave".

While they were polling 30-plus percent for the European election, they were credited with just 12-19 for national polls at the same time. Apparently they are considering to let people propose planks on the internet, similar to the Italian Five Star Movement. Which should be fun to watch given the wildly diverging political background of supporters (there are no conventional members; the party was incorporated as a company, a similar construct to Geert Wilders' Dutch Freedom Party), from former Conservative MPs to former members of the Revolutionary Communist Party and IRA supporters, united only by the common aim of Brexit.

BTW, the party is not just six weeks old; that's when it officially launched its campaign. It was founded last November and registered to run candidates for elections in early February though, with several former UKIP members joining at that time. But of course Farage has always been rather liberal with details.

What the Tory leadership hopefuls promise – not necessarily what they’ll do. The bookies think that Boris Johnson is the most likely winner. If Michael Gove hadn’t back stabbed Boris (right after the Brexit vote), Boris would’ve been PM instead of Mrs. May, and the UK would’ve been out of the EU months ago.

“Boris Johnson: Brexiteer who backs a deal but will leave without a deal if required. Writing in the Daily Telegraph today the ex-foreign secretary said: 'No one sensible would aim exclusively for a no-deal outcome. No one responsible would take no-deal off the table.'

Dominic Raab: Brexiteer who wants the current deal with Brussels renegotiated but believes the UK should leave on October 31 'at the latest' with or without a deal, saying: 'I believe that I have the plan to ensure we can leave the EU by the end of October'.

Andrea Leadsom: Brexiteer who told the Guardian we must be 'prepared to leave without a deal' but has a 'three-point plan for Brexit, for how we get out of the European Union'.

Rory Stewart: Remainer who says he could not work for a PM who backed a No Deal Brexit. Described it as 'damaging, unnecessary' and  'a huge mistake'.

Michael Gove: Brexiteer who favours a deal. He told the BBC at the weekend that 'we would be able to get through it' but added: 'It's ultimately better for all of us if we secure a deal with the EU and leave in an orderly way'.

Matt Hancock: Remainer who backs a deal. He told Sky News that leaving the European Union without an agreement is 'not an active policy choice that is available to the next prime minister', in jibe at Boris Johnson.

Jeremy Hunt: Remainer turned Brexiteer whose views on No Desal have varied. last year he said it would be 'a mistake we would regret for generations' before later insisting the UK would 'would survive and prosper' if it left unilaterally.

Esther McVey: Ruled out a futher Brexit extension. Todya she said:  'People saying we need a Brexit policy to bring people together are misreading the situation. We need to deliver on the referendum result with a clean break and then we bring people together by how we govern the country outside the EU.'

Sajid Javid: Remainer Home Secretary who accepts that Brexit has to happen. He said today: 'First and foremost, we must deliver Brexit.' …

https://mol.im/a/7073467

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Can't quite put my finger on it, but..........I still have this kind built-in antipathy for a man called Nigel, who wears a three-quarter overcoat with a velvet collar

Yeah you've mentioned that before. Liberty comes in all shapes an sizes and, apparently, coats you don't like attached to men with names you don't care for.

quote:

Originally posted by Veeper:

quote:

Can't quite put my finger on it, but..........I still have this kind built-in antipathy for a man called Nigel, who wears a three-quarter overcoat with a velvet collar

Yeah you've mentioned that before. Liberty comes in all shapes an sizes and, apparently, coats you don't like attached to men with names you don't care for.

I said I can't take to the man, but I respect and support his ideals.

quote:

Originally posted by tacfoley:

quote:

Originally posted by Veeper:

quote:

Can't quite put my finger on it, but..........I still have this kind built-in antipathy for a man called Nigel, who wears a three-quarter overcoat with a velvet collar

Yeah you've mentioned that before. Liberty comes in all shapes an sizes and, apparently, coats you don't like attached to men with names you don't care for.

I said I can't take to the man, but I respect and support his ideals.

first-rate ass clowns apparently make good leaders....

They may make good disrupters.
It’s extraordinarily rare for them to turn out to be great leaders as well, and here is where Mr. Trump is unique.