THE Conservative Party got the most votes in Redbridge in the European elections, while Labour came second.

As the Guardian exclusively revealed earlier today before the results were officially announced, the Tories got 17,747 votes with 14,394 for Labour in Thursday's vote.

UKIP came in third with 7,372 and the Lib Dems got 5,793.

The Greens finished fifth with 4,956 votes.

Independent candidate Jan Jananayagam pulled an impressive 4,910, beating the British National Party (BNP) into seventh place.

She was standing on a platform protesting against the Sri Lakan government's 'genocide' of Tamils in the recent civil war.

Sri And, from Ms Jananayagam campaign staff, put the impressive result down to the borough’s large multicultural population.

He said: “It’s not just the number of Tamils in Redbridge - we’ve had a lot of support from Indians, we’ve had donations from Hindu temples, people in the Sikh community, the Bangladesh community and Jewish people too.

“We had some support from a synagogue in Woodford Green. I think for Jewish people what is happening to the Tamils brings memories of the internment camps and Holocaust of the Second World War.

“We acknowledge that the Tamil Tiger leadership has been quashed, but there are still 150,00 people being held in interment camps. Jan stood to raise awareness and to get the EU to help intervene to ensure a long and just peace.”

With Labour licking their wounds, it was also a good night for UKIP, who fared far better in Redbridge than the overall London total, where they finished fifth.

Woodford Green UKIP activist Nick Jones said: “It was a very good result for us, but then it’s been an opportunity for the public to give a message what they think about the EU.

“It’s difficult to say why we did better in Redbridge than other parts of London, but we do generally do better in the outer boroughs.”

Turnout was a lowly 34 per cent.

There were 370 rejected ballots.

The results were in contrast to the overall London total, which saw three Conservative MEPs elected, along with two for Labour, one for the Lib Dems, one for the Greens and one for UKIP.

In the capital as a whole, the BNP came sixth, with the Christian Party-Christian Peoples Alliance finishing seventh.

RESULTS IN FULL

Conservative Party 17,747

The Labour Party 14,394

United Kingdom Independence Party 7,372

Liberal Democrats 5,793

The Green Party 4,956

Jan Jananayagam 4,910

British National Party 2,945

Christian Party 1,757

English Democrats Party 902

No2EU: Yes To Democracy 713

Socialist Labour Party 473

Pro Democracy: Libertas.eu 243

Jury Team 215

Sohale Rahman 193

Steven Cheung 189

Haroon Saad 112

The Socialist Party of Great Britain 111

Yes 2 Europe 81

Gene Alcantara 39