IT was another night of celebration for UKIP as the party collected the most votes in Swindon at the European elections.

The result, announced on Sunday at the Oasis, follows on from success in last week’s local elections, where the anti-EU party secured more than 20 per cent of the vote, although they received no seats on the council.

There was a mixed result for the three main parties in the election, with the Conservatives finishing in second place ahead of the Labour Party.

The Liberal Democrats’ poor performance nationally in Europe was mirrored in Swindon where they finished in fifth place behind the Green party.

Votes in Swindon were then added to the rest of the South West region to calculate the six MEPs who would represent the region.

Following the election there are now two UKIP representatives, two Conservative, one Labour and one Green.

The Labour and the Green MEPs have replaced Conservative and Lib Dem representatives.

UKIP managed to secure more than 17,000 votes, making them comfortable winners in an historic victory.

It is the first time a party other than the Conservatives or Labour has won a town-wide election since the Second World War.

Speaking after the count, chairman of Swindon UKIP John Short said it was a superb result and believes the party is in prime position to take seats at the next general election.

He said: “As you can imagine I am a bit lost for words. This is a fantastic night for us and the party as a whole.

“It shows that people want something different and from here we will go from strength to strength.

“UKIP is a political force in Swindon and can no longer be ignored by the other parties. I want to thank everyone in Swindon who came out to vote for us.

“I also want to thank those who ran the election for doing such a good job as well.”

The Conservative Party were also pleased with the result, believing that to be ahead of Labour so close to next year’s General Election leaves them in a very strong position.

Swindon North MP Justin Tomlinson said: “The results of these elections have been absolutely catastrophic for the Labour party.

“The local elections and now these results have been a total disaster. The Ed Miliband effect is leading Labour to a total meltdown.

“You have to say congratulations to UKIP who improved their vote share, and you have to wonder who will be the main opposition at the election next year, UKIP or Labour.”