THE NEWLY FORMED Brexit Party failed to win its first seat in Britain’s parliament after it lost out to the opposition Labour Party in a crunch by-election, results today show.

The poll in the city of Peterborough was triggered after the sitting MP, Fiona Onasanya, was rejected by voters after being jailed for lying over a speeding offence.

The Brexit Party’s candidate Mike Greene, a local entrepreneur, came in second with nearly 29% of the vote, behind Labour’s Lisa Forbes, who won around 31%. The ruling Conservatives came third with 21%, while the Liberal Democrats won 12 percent. 

Today’s result is a setback for the Brexit Party – founded by eurosceptic Nigel Farage only a few months ago – which came out on top in the European elections in May with 31.6% of votes cast. 

It had been seeking to capitalise on that momentum as well as voter disillusionment with the main Conservative and Labour parties, who have historically shared the Peterborough seat.

Prime Minister Theresa May is stepping down as Conservative party leader today after delaying Brexit twice as she tried and failed to get her EU divorce deal through parliament.

Farage, who has called for Britain to leave the bloc without a deal, said last weekend while campaigning he saw the by-election as “the opportunity for the next chapter in this great story”.

- © AFP 2019