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Upstart British Party Gains in Local Vote Upstart British Party Gains in Local Vote
(35 minutes later)
LONDON — Britain’s populist United Kingdom Independence Party, usually known as UKIP, made sweeping gains in local elections and finished second in a parliamentary by-election, according to results announced Friday, shaking mainstream political parties and consolidating its position as an emerging political force. LONDON — Britain’s populist United Kingdom Independence Party, usually known as UKIP, made sweeping gains in local elections and finished second in a parliamentary by-election, according to results announced Friday, shaking mainstream political parties, consolidating its position as an emerging political force and claiming a “sea change” in national life.
In a series of ballots in different parts of the country the upstart party, which wants Britain to leave the European Union and strictly control immigration, gained around a quarter of the vote, according to an initial count. The outcome represented the party’s fourth electoral advance in six months. Once scorned by Prime Minister David Cameron as “a bunch of fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists,” the party, which wants Britain to leave the European Union and strictly control immigration, gained about a quarter of the vote in a series of ballots in different parts of the country, according to an initial count. The outcome represented the party’s fourth electoral advance in six months.
The results were particularly alarming for the dominant Conservatives who were pushed into third place in a by-election at South Shields in the northeast after the resignation of the former foreign secretary, David Miliband. The opposition Labour party retained the seat, but with a reduced majority. “We have been abused by everybody, the entire establishment,” UKIP leader Nigel Farage told the BBC, “and now they are shocked and stunned that we are getting over 25 percent of the vote everywhere we stand across the country. This is a real sea change in British politics.”
UKIP also won seats in all six county councils that had so far declared their results Friday morning, giving them a growing platform for elections next year to the European Parliament in which they could finish first among Britain’s parties. A government minister, Kenneth Clarke, had also dismissed UKIP as “clowns,” prompting Mr. Farage, giving interviews in a string of television and radio studios, to remark: “Send in the clowns.”
Speaking to the BBC, the party’s leader, Nigel Farage, warned his rivals that his supporters were rejecting the country’s political establishment and that they were not going to go away. “The people that vote for us are rejecting the establishment,” he said, castigating the “metropolitan elite” for failing to respond to what he depicted as a desire among Britons to retrieve British sovereignty from the European Union. “It’s about getting our country back,” he said. The results were particularly alarming for Mr. Cameron’s Conservatives who were pushed into third place in a by-election at South Shields in the northeast after the resignation of the former foreign secretary, David Miliband. The opposition Labour party retained the seat, but with a reduced majority.
UKIP also won seats in all six county councils that had so far declared their results Friday morning, giving them a growing platform for elections next year to the European Parliament in which they could finish first among Britain’s parties. Grant Shapps, a leading Conservative, said the election “has not been a great night for any of the mainstream parties.”
Mr. Farage warned his rivals that his supporters were rejecting the country’s political establishment and that they were not going to go away. “The people that vote for us are rejecting the establishment,” he said, castigating the “metropolitan elite” for failing to respond to what he depicted as a desire among Britons to retrieve British sovereignty from the European Union. “It’s about getting our country back,” he said.
The results, he said, were “remarkable” and a vote against the established political parties “who look the same and sound the same and are made up of people who basically have never had a job in the real world.”The results, he said, were “remarkable” and a vote against the established political parties “who look the same and sound the same and are made up of people who basically have never had a job in the real world.”
Partly to head off the growing threat from Mr. Farage’s party, Prime Minister David Cameron has already promised to renegotiate Britain’s relations with the European Union, then hold a referendum on whether or not to stay in the bloc. Partly to head off the growing threat from Mr. Farage’s party, Prime Minister Cameron has already promised to renegotiate Britain’s relations with the European Union, then hold a referendum on whether or not to stay in the bloc.
He is now likely to face more pressure from Euroskeptic lawmakers to introduce legislation promising the referendum after the next general election, scheduled for 2015. That would send a strong signal that the Conservatives are really committed to holding the in-out vote, Euroskeptics argue.He is now likely to face more pressure from Euroskeptic lawmakers to introduce legislation promising the referendum after the next general election, scheduled for 2015. That would send a strong signal that the Conservatives are really committed to holding the in-out vote, Euroskeptics argue.
The elections also marked another setback for the Liberal Democrats, the junior coalition partner. Until the party joined the government the Liberal Democrats had been a traditional repository of protest votes, many of which now seem to be switching to UKIP.The elections also marked another setback for the Liberal Democrats, the junior coalition partner. Until the party joined the government the Liberal Democrats had been a traditional repository of protest votes, many of which now seem to be switching to UKIP.
UKIP appears to be exploiting a mood of discontent with all the political establishment as the economy remains in the doldrums.UKIP appears to be exploiting a mood of discontent with all the political establishment as the economy remains in the doldrums.
The results could also have economic repercussions, analysts said. “The surge in support for the UK Independence Party, which campaigns to take the United Kingdom out of the E.U., will work against the efforts of Chancellor George Osborne to attract investment to the U.K.,” wrote Rob Wood, chief economist for Britain at Berenberg Bank in London in an analysis.The results could also have economic repercussions, analysts said. “The surge in support for the UK Independence Party, which campaigns to take the United Kingdom out of the E.U., will work against the efforts of Chancellor George Osborne to attract investment to the U.K.,” wrote Rob Wood, chief economist for Britain at Berenberg Bank in London in an analysis.
“In last night’s elections for about 2,300 local council seats and one parliamentary seat, U.K. Independence Party popularity seems to have surged. The strength of the anti-E.U. vote slightly raises the uncertainty about the U.K.'s prospects of remaining in the E.U. after 2017, which can’t be a good thing for companies thinking about investing in the Britain,” he added. “In last night’s elections for about 2,300 local council seats and one parliamentary seat, UK Independence Party popularity seems to have surged. The strength of the anti-E.U. vote slightly raises the uncertainty about the U.K.'s prospects of remaining in the E.U. after 2017, which can’t be a good thing for companies thinking about investing in the Britain,” he added.
A leading political analyst, John Curtice of Strathclyde University in Scotland, said UKIP had far exceeded pollsters’ expectations, and its message — particularly its call for tighter immigration controls — seemed to have resonated with voters at a time when the British economy was “still in the sick-bay.”A leading political analyst, John Curtice of Strathclyde University in Scotland, said UKIP had far exceeded pollsters’ expectations, and its message — particularly its call for tighter immigration controls — seemed to have resonated with voters at a time when the British economy was “still in the sick-bay.”
“This is frankly a phenomenal performance,” he told the BBC. “We are going to mark this as a historic set of election results.”“This is frankly a phenomenal performance,” he told the BBC. “We are going to mark this as a historic set of election results.”

Alan Cowell contributed reporting from Paris.

Stephen Castle reported from London and Alan Cowell from Paris.