SNP top Highland poll but miss out on third seat

THE SNP came out on top in the Highland Council area of the European elections, but have failed to win a third MEP seat as UKIP created history by winning its first Scottish seat.

SNP topped the Highland poll with 19,810 votes with Liberal Democrats second with 12,189 votes and Labour third with 9163.

Despite their success elsewhere in the country, UKIP only managed to finish fifth in Highland with 7818 votes, beaten into fourth by the Conservatives.

There were 65,307 votes cast in Highland in the five-yearly European Parliamentary Elections, a turnout of 36.3 per cent. This included 20,204 postal votes.

The SNP and Labour each won two of Scotland’s six MEP seats, with one each for the Conservatives and UKIP.

Highland result:

Party

Scottish National Party 19,810

Liberal Democrats 12,189

Labour Party 9163

Conservative Party 9088

UK Independence Party (UKIP) 7818

Scottish Green Party 5615

Britain First 755

British National Party 435

NO2EU 294

Rejected votes 136

Total votes cast 65,307

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