NIGEL Farage has pledged to "change the shape of British politics" after his Brexit Party stormed to victory in the European elections, winning 29 out of 73 seats and a 32 per cent share of the UK vote.

Theresa May said the Euro-poll results had produced a "very disappointing night" for the Conservatives after they lost 15 seats, picking up just four. She stressed: "It shows the importance of finding a Brexit deal and I sincerely hope these results focus minds in Parliament."

READ MORE: European elections 2019 live results in Scotland 

Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, who is one of several contenders to succeed her as Tory leader, issued a stark warning to his party, saying it now faced an “existential risk” if it did not deliver Brexit; the Conservatives secured just nine per cent of the vote, its worst ever result.

Labour is experiencing its own post-poll turmoil after several senior figures insisted the party had to jettison its so-called “constructive ambiguity” approach to Brexit and fully back a second referendum. Jeremy Corbyn, the party leader, refused to answer journalists’ questions when he left home by taxi this morning. Earlier, he said the party would need to reflect on the numbers.

Nicola Sturgeon hailed an “historic and spectacular” result for the SNP, which has polled 38 per cent of the vote, up five points on 1994. This means the party is set, with all but one of Scotland’s 32 councils to declare, to win three of the six Scottish MEP seats.

Speaking at an event in Dublin, the First Minister said: “Suddenly, this idea of being a small independent country in the European Union, we only have to look at Ireland to see the benefits of that and many people are having their eyes opened."

The Liberal Democrats, following on from their good performance in the local elections in England, had another successful night, gaining 15 seats. Jo Swinson, the deputy leader, hailed the result, saying the party had brought people together. “To be able to get Michael Heseltine and Alistair Campbell united in the voting booth is no mean feat." There is now talk of Change UK merging with the Lib Dems.

Within the next 72 hours, the East Dunbartonshire MP is expected to announce her bid to succeed Sir Vince Cable as Lib Dem leader.

The scale of the Tory disaster was underlined by its single-digit vote share; in fifth place across the UK behind the Brexit Party on 32 per cent, the Lib Dems on 21, Labour on 15 and the Greens on 12 after all the results were in from England and Wales.

Just three Conservatives were elected south of the border while the Brexit Party’s haul of 28 seats outdid the 24 MEPs that Mr Farage's former party, Ukip, sent to the European Parliament in 2014.

The Lib Dems, reduced to just a single MEP then, have bounced back strongly and are on 16 after their best ever European results.

READ MORE: Scotland's longest serving MEP, David Martin, loses seat after Labour collapse 

Labour, by contrast, have 10, halving their result while the Greens - who also enjoyed a boost from pro-EU voters - were on seven, up from three on 2014.

The full result in Scotland will not be formally declared until later today but with a poll result of 38 per cent thus far, the SNP is the clear winner.

Ms Sturgeon said her party had won "emphatically" and would take three of the six available seats.

"We didn't just win the election, we are polling 20-plus points ahead of our nearest rivals, it's astonishing, astonishing for any party, but our party has now been in government for 12 years,” declared the FM.

"So, as well as being a very clear anti-Brexit vote, it's an endorsement of our party's record in government," she added.

In contrast, Scottish Labour slumped to fifth place, falling from 26 per cent five years ago to just nine per cent now, losing its two MEP seats.

David Martin - who has been the UK's longest-serving MEP having first been elected in 1984 – tweeted: “We lost not because of lack of effort but lack of clear message."

His Labour colleague Ian Murray, the MP Edinburgh South and a leading Remained who has campaigned for a second European referendum, also took to social media to hit out at the party’s hierarchy: "The Labour leadership refused to listen to me, their members & their supporters. Maybe now they'll listen to the voters?"

Ruth Davidson for the Scottish Conservatives said it had been clear her party was set to get a kicking in the Euro-poll.

“The arrival of the Brexit Party demonstrates the clear frustration of the Scottish electorate that Brexit still isn’t sorted,” she declared.

The Edinburgh MSP committed to “redoubling” her efforts to get rid of the Nationalist Government, adding: “Dividing the pro-Union vote only benefits one party: the SNP.”

Mr Farage, riding another electoral wave following the success of Ukip in the 2014 Euro-poll, said he was getting ready to fight a general election, warning that his Brexit Party could "stun everybody" if Britain had not left the EU by the next national contest.

"We're not just here to leave the European Union but to try and fundamentally change the shape of British politics, bring it into the 21st century and get a Parliament that better reflects the country," he insisted.

The Brexit Party came second in Scotland and is on course to pick up one MEP seat as are both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.

Louis Stedman-Bryce, its lead candidate in Scotland, said the party’s Scottish result was “pretty amazing”.

He explained: “Obviously, five weeks ago the party didn't exist and we've gone from zero to second place in this election, which is phenomenal and in the wider picture we are leading across the UK.

"This just demonstrates that there is a strong and valid number of people in Scotland who voted to leave the European Union," added Mr Stedman-Bryce.

As the Conservatives assessed their disastrous performance, Mr Hunt described it as “painful” and warned there was now an "existential risk to our party unless we now come together and get Brexit done".

READ MORE: Scottish Labour MPs slam leadership saying party may ‘never recover’ from ‘worst ever’ result 

His colleague Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, who is another potential leadership contender, said the "hugely disappointing" results were a "clear lesson" that the public wanted the Government to get on with delivering Brexit.

Boris Johnson, the former Foreign Secretary and bookie’s favourite to succeed the PM, tweeted: “The message from last night's results is clear. It is time for us to deliver Brexit and set out our positive plans for the country."

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans said the result, which saw no Tories elected in North West England, was "beyond dire," adding: "Wake up Conservatives and deliver Brexit."

Liz Truss, the Treasury Chief Secretary, concluded: “These terrible election results are not a surprise. It's because of the failure to leave the EU when we said we would. We must leave by October 31, deal or no deal.”

In the Labour family, there was also disquiet.

Two of Labour's most senior figures - Emily Thornberry and Tom Watson - tore into the party's campaign, claiming it had lacked a clear message as it sought to appeal to both Leave and Remain voters.

Ms Thornberry, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, said Labour had got a "kicking" because "we went into an election where the most important issue was 'what was our view on leaving the European Union' and we were not clear about it".

Mr Watson, the deputy party leader, said: "Following the disastrous EU election results, Labour urgently needs to re-think its Brexit position and realign with members and voters."

Their colleague, Sir Keir Starmer, argued a second referendum was now the "only way" to break the Brexit impasse. The Shadow Brexit Secretary said the public should be given the choice between a "credible leave option and remain".

John McDonnell, the Shadow Chancellor, echoed the point, saying Labour could unite the party and country by "taking [the] issue back to people in a public vote".

However, Richard Burgon, the Shadow Justice Secretary, insisted his party had had the right approach in seeking to appeal to both Leavers and Remainers even though it was not suitable for the European elections.

Mr Corbyn said the Euro-poll had become "a proxy second referendum".

But he was non-committal, saying: "Over the coming days we will have conversations across our party and movement and reflect on these results on both sides of the Brexit divide."

Meanwhile, the Green Party had a successful night, winning four seats to bring its total to seven. It finished above the Conservatives for the first time in a national election.

Sian Berry, its co-leader, said: "There is clear evidence from this of strong support for the UK remaining in the European Union but also for tackling the causes of Brexit: the massive damage done to so many communities by austerity; tax-dodging and diminution of workers' rights."

Votes from Northern Ireland are being counted today with the results due by this evening.