Gordon Brown’s hopes of political survival were dealt a massive blow last night as the far right British National Party achieved a major electoral breakthrough, gaining their first seat in the European Parliament.

Andrew Brons, the far right party’s candidate in the Yorkshire and Humber region, took the seat from Labour with 120,139 votes.

It was Saltaire-based Labour MEP Richard Corbett he ousted from his seat.

Mr Brons, a retired political lecturer, said his victory was the first step towards the UK gaining freedom from the “European dictatorship.”

Cabinet minister Andy Burnham said the result was a “sad moment for British politics”.

The BNP took almost 10 per cent of the vote in the region, up by 2 per cent on the last election.

And shadow foreign secretary William Hague, who is from south Yorkshire, said the party had taken votes from Labour.

The Conservative party gained 299,802 votes in Yorkshire and retained both of its MEPs in the region, Timothy Kirkhope and Edward McMillan-Scott.

The Liberal Democrat party gained 161,552 votes, allowing Diana Wallace to retain her seat.

Meanwhile, the UK Independence Party received 213,750 votes, with Godfrey Bloom keeping his seat.

Labour polled 230,000 votes, down 8 per cent from the last election.

The Conservative’s share of the vote in Yorkshire amounted to 25 per cent – the same as the last election.

In all, the BNP achieved 16% of the vote in Barnsley, nearly 12% in Doncaster and 15% in Rotherham – all Labour strongholds.

It was soon apparent Mr Brown was heading for a mauling as the first results last night showed a sharp fall in the Labour vote.

With Mr Brown’s political survival hanging in the balance, deputy leader Harriet Harman admitted that they were expecting a “very dismal” night.

In Labour's North East heartland – the first region to declare – the party saw its share of the vote drop 9 per cent since the last elections in 2004.

Miss Harman said: “We are bracing ourselves for very dismal results, there is no doubt about that.”

Miss Harman sought to deflect attention from the Prime Minister, putting the blame for Labour's poor performance on the row over MPs' expenses.