May 27, 2019: Anti-EU populist Nigel Farage's Brexit Party triumphed on Sunday and the ruling Conservatives endured a historic blow in European Parliament elections in which Britain was never meant to vote.

The pro-EU Liberal Democrats and the Greens capitalized on their demands for second Brexit vote and made major gains in an election dominated by debates over Britain's place in Europe.

The poll was held against the backdrop of political disarray in the UK that saw Prime Minister Theresa May announce her resignation after failing to deliver Brexit on time.

Farage hailed the result and demanded for his Brexit Party to be included in a new round of negotiations with Brussels.

The original 2016 Brexit campaign figurehead warned that failure to leave the EU on October 31 — the latest Brexit deadline — would see his party replicate its victory in a general election.

“We are getting ready for it,” Farage warned in Southampton as ballots were being counted his the South East region.

Britain voted to leave the EU by a 52-48 percent margin in a seismic 2016 national poll.

It was supposed to have left the EU on March 29 but got held up by parliamentary deadlock and deep divisions over strategy in May's government.

Farage's newly-formed group capitalized on the anger of Brexit voters in dramatic style.

Results with 90 percent of the vote the count showed the Brexit Party winning with 31.6 percent.

May's bickering Conservative Party — now in the throes of a leadership contest involving much of her current cabinet — did as poorly as many of its leaders had feared.

The partial results showed them on 9.1 percent and trailing in fifth place behind the Greens in fourth on 12.1 and double the 2014 EU election outcome.

Vince Cable's pro-EU Liberal Democrats surged to 20.3 percent from 6.7 percent in 2014 and were well ahead of the 14.1 percent of the main opposition party Labour Party of socialist Jeremy Corbyn.

The Labour leader has been deeply ambiguous on Brexit for much of the past year.

(APP)

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