Green party co-leader explains why the European elections are ‘not a victory’ for the Brexit party

As the hotly-anticipated results for the European elections came in, the Green Party co-leader Sian Berry made an important point about the lessons we take from the election.

While Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party was the undoubted winner with 32 per cent of the vote across the UK, 40 per cent of the electorate still backed one of the five pro-Remain parties that support a second referendum.

The Green Party alone won seven seats with 12 per cent of the vote and finished above the Conservatives for the first time in a national election.

Speaking as the votes were counted, Berry said:

This is not a victory for Nigel Farage's party.

I think what you saw from what Ann Widdecombe said just then is that they intend to do nothing now other than complain that we haven’t left with no deal, which was basically their only policy.

So I think that we are in a position now that we have to be looking at all of the parties who are not standing for nothing at all other than leaving with no deal to come together and put forward something that helps deal with the causes of Brexit…that agrees on some kind of deal to put to the people and then puts that deal to the people.

It’s the only thing we can see that can take us forwards now when everyone’s rejected the establishment parties so badly.

Undoubtedly the five pro-Remain parties did well in the European elections with 40 per cent of the vote. This combined total counts the votes won by the Lib Dems, Green Party, SNP, Change UK and Plaid Cymru.

But the combined total of the Brexit party and Ukip, the two pro-Brexit parties, was 35 per cent.

It’s clear that the UK is as divided as ever on the issue of Brexit.

Sigh.

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