LABOUR was the biggest loser in the European elections in the south east while the UK Independence Party celebrated a dramatic surge in support which saw it win two of the ten seats up for grabs.

And there was jubilation and relief for the Green Party, which held on to its one MEP, while the Tories secured four seats and the Liberal Democrats two.

But it was Labour which was the night's biggest casualty. Mark Watts, who has represented Kent since 1994 in the region and lives in Kent, lost his seat as support for the party slumped in line with the national trend.

The defeat was a bitter blow for Labour, which had hoped it had done enough in the campaign to hold on to its two seats. It trailed in fourth place and picked up just 13.7 per cent of the vote.

Mr Watts said he was deeply disappointed but denied his defeat was down to public opposition to the war on Iraq and disaffection with the Labour government.

"I don't think it was just about Iraq. The anti-European movement is mobilised in a way in which it wasn't five years ago. It is a formidable force and clearly we did not win over the anti-European vote. For Kent to turn its back on Europe would be a big mistake. We have to see Europe as an opportunity, not a threat. We fought a pro-European campaign but clearly did not do enough to win people over."

He said he had no idea what he would do but insisted he had not given up on politics and would welcome an opportunity to come back as a candidate in the future."If people wanted me back, I'd be very happy. But this chapter is closed. I have had a fantastic career and enjoyed representing Kent."

In contrast, both the Conservatives and the UK Independence Party had much better fortunes. The Conservatives declared themselves satisfied after polling the highest number of votes - 776,370 - and at 35.2 per cent, taking the highest share of the vote. It was enough to give them four seats.

For the UK Independence Party, the results were bitter-sweet. The party more than doubled the number of votes it had in 1999 and was second only to the Conservatives on votes cast. But the 431,111 votes it secured meant they narrowly missed out on having three MEPs elected.

Kent Tory MEP Dan Hannan, who was one of the four re-elected, said: "This is the first European election which has actually been fought on European issues and if you look at the results, seven of the ten winning candidates say no more powers should go to Europe. I would urge Tony Blair to listen to what the people have said and use his mandate to protect our independence."

UK Independence Party MEP Nigel Farage said it had been a spectacular success: "UKIP has become a good second in this election. We are a real political movement and we are here to stay. I am very proud of what we have achieved. People voted for us because we were the only party which said we are being led in the wrong direction on Europe. We have given back to people a reason to vote."

The Green Party confounded the expectations of some and polled more than 60,000 more votes than last time - more than enough to ensure that MEP Caroline Lucas held her seat. She said: "Our result shows that people want the environment protected, social justice and peace at the top of the political agenda."

The Liberal Democrats came third in votes cast and increased its share of the vote. MEP Chris Huhne said people recognised his party was the only one prepared to push for reform. "We do not want to shut the door to the European Union but change it and fully participate in making those changes."

Results for the south east region: Conservatives: - Four seats, Labour - One seat; Lib Dems - Two seats; Green Party - One seat; UKIP -Two seats.