Reaction to UK European election results

1. The UK is electing 73 MEPs from across 12 regions - 11 have so far declared
2. The Brexit Party have 29 MEPs winning 32% of the vote and are largest party in nine regions
3. The Lib Dems have 16 MEPs, up 15, with a nationwide 20% share of the vote
4. Labour have 10 MEPs, down by 10, and their vote share has fallen to 14%
5. The Green Party have won seven MEPs, up four, with 12% vote share
6. The Conservatives have four MEPs, down 15, and are in fifth place on 9% of the vote
7. Change UK have not won any seats, nor have UKIP
8. In Scotland, the SNP have three MEPs, Brexit Party one, Lib Dems one and Conservatives one
9. The Brexit Party dominated in Wales, with Plaid Cymru second
10. Counting to determine the results in Northern Ireland began at 08:00
11. Overall turnout is 37%

Polls close

The polls across Europe have now closed. First results will come very quickly.

How does the voting system work?

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It is a little complicated...

A system devised by Victor D'Hondt, a Belgian lawyer and mathematician active in the 19th Century, dictates the results:

• In the first round of counting the party with the most votes wins a seat for the candidate at the top of its list

• In the second round the winning party's vote is divided by two, and whichever party comes out on top in the re-ordered results wins a seat for their top candidate

• The process repeats itself, with the original vote of the winning party in each round being divided by one plus their running total of MEPs, until all the seats for the region have been taken

Click here for a full explanation

Who voted and when?

• 23 May: Netherlands, UK
• 24 May: Ireland, Czech Republic (which also voted on 25 May)
• 25 May: Latvia, Malta, Slovakia
• 26 May: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden

Good evening

Hello and welcome to the BBC's live online coverage of the European Parliament elections in the UK.

Voters here cast their ballots on Thursday, while polls will be closing across other parts of the EU shortly.

The first results are expected about 22:00 BST.

There will be a particular focus on how the mainstream UK parties have fared in light of the continuing Brexit crisis.