A mammoth counting operation has got underway in the UK as European election votes are tallied up in what is expected to be a sensational victory for the Brexit Party. Millions of stuffed ballot boxes have started to be emptied with polls predicting that Nigel Farage's hardline Eurosceptic movement will thrash the two mainstream parties whose vote share is poised to collapse. The first results will start to be announced after 10pm when polling stations in Italy - the final EU country to vote - close and there is no risk of the outcome in Britain influencing how other nation's cast their ballots. Projections show that turnout has increased to up 38 per cent, an increase of 2 per cent from 2014 and suggest the Brexit Party will return the most amount of MEPs to Brussels. These elections were not meant to happen in the UK but the delay to the Brexit departure date meant that Britain is required to send a new batch of politicians to the EU Parliament. An Electoral Commission forecast this evening put the Brexit Party's projected MEP haul at 24, followed by the Lib Dems at 15 and Labour at 14. Early indications suggest a bad night for the governing Conservative Party who will likely receive a drubbing and return only 10 MEPs - down nine from 2014. Counting begins for the East Midlands region at the European Parliamentary elections count at the Kettering Conference Centre Election staff making piles of ballot papers as they count the votes for the European Elections Nigel Farage's Brexit Party is expected to dominate the elections taking away swathes of Tory voters. Pictured: Staff counting votes in Birmingham Countdown: The announcement of the results is just hours away as staff begin counting at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham Ballot papers for The Brexit Party are collected as counting begins for the East Midlands region Counting of votes for the European election gets under way at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre The last poll before Britons voted put Farage's Brexit Party on 37%, the Lib Dems in second on 19, Labour on 13%, the Greens on 12% and the Conservatives in fifth on 7%. Farage has also called himself a 'king maker' in the Conservative Party leadership battle. The Brexit Party leader claimed that leadership hopefuls would have to earn his support if they wanted to be in with a chance of winning. What happens once polling stops across Europe? How and when are the votes counted, and when will we get a glimpse of the result in the European elections? 4PM: Exit polls from Germany should start to offer some clues as to who is in the lead - as it is the biggest country in Europe 6PM: Further exit polls from Spain and France will follow, providing a clearer picture 7PM: The European Parliament publish publish a first projection for all seats based on exit polls in 12 countries. After 7PM it will then include results from Poland, as and when they are available 9PM: Another projection will be published once the votes have been counted in Italy 10.15PM: Provisional results expected from the European Parliament Monday 27 May: Parties discuss results, with the leaders of the four pro EU groups set to meet in the evening to agree a push to have one of their own appointed EU chief executive Tuesday 28 May: Parliament’s Conference of Presidents meet in the morning 3PM: National leaders meet in Brussels to debate their next move Speaking to Fox News he said that the new Prime Minister would have to accept the Brexiteer's policy of a no-deal Brexit. He boasted that his success at the European Parliament elections would set him up as a kingmaker in the heated contest. 'On Sunday night, we get the results of the European elections. The Conservative Party will get less than 10 percent of the vote. 'The Brexit Party which I founded six weeks ago is expected to top the polls with 35 percent. 'Whoever the Conservatives choose, whether it's Boris or not, without my support they won't win the next election.' Estimates from Number Cruncher Politics UK revealed that national turnout was up by around 38 per cent. Some of the strongest increases were where the Green Party did best in 2014, however it also appeared that turnout in Labour held areas had been worse. The analysis from Number Cruncher Politics shows where people are turning up to vote and also revealed that turnout was weakest in areas where UKIP was strongest in 2014. 'Most of UKIP's 2014 voters will have voted for someone else this time, but this may be some less good news for the Brexit Party (though to be clear, this does NOT mean that they won't win)'. It also stated that the pattern wasn't clear when it came to where the Conservative's strengths were. Other's across Europe were also pictured casting their ballot today including Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the European Commission, who was pictured in Luxembourg earlier today. Exit polls from Germany should be in within the next hour, which will give a clear indication of who has a majority, with it being the biggest country in Europe. On Friday, votes were counted faced-down to gauge turnout but tonight they are being officially added up and stacked by party Voting slips are counted in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. Wales represents one of the 12 regions which the UK electorate is divided into After all the votes are counted, the talk it set to continue until Tuesday next week, when all leaders will meet in Brussels for a dinner. They will debate their next move over the course of the dinner which is set to be attended by leaders from the 28 states. It is likely that they will rally to appoint people who are pro-EU and are inline with their current values. Number Crunch UK said: 'A slight (though weak) positive correlation between Tory strength last time and turnout change – but they may, of course be voting for the Brexit Party or Lib Dems.' People across Europe continues to take to the polls today with the Five Star Movement's party deputy Stefano Buffagni having caste his ballot at a polling station this morning. This is while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was pictured in Pozuelo de Alorcon casting his vote. Opposition leader Ska Keller, for the Green Party in Germany was also out early this morning to cast her vote in Berlin. While in Romanian, President Klaus Johannis was pictured in Bucharest, as was the former Prosecutor General of the Anti Corruption Department, Laira Codruta Kovesi. Farage's former party Ukip - which won the last European election in 2014 - will likely get hammered and could fail to return any of their MEPs. Each counting station will be presided over by a Returning Officer who will then pass the result to the Regional Returning Officer for the announcement. But while some smaller regions will declare the results on Sunday night and in the early hours of Monday, the larger and sparsely populated regions are likely to still be counting the following day. In the UK, there are 12 electoral regions: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, East Midlands, Eastern, London, North East, North West, South East, South West, West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber. These regions will return a total of 73 MEPs who will sit in the 751-strong European Parliament in Brussels. The Parliament's size is intended to be reduced to 705 in the 2019–2024 legislature after 46 of the UK's seats are removed following Brexit, and the rest are shared out among unrepresented countries. Throughout June the elected candidates will negotiate to form political groupings to sit with in the Parliament, before beginning the new ninth term on July 2. The European Parliament is the legislative body of the European Union that votes on laws proposed by the un-elected Commission. Because the UK was originally meant to leave the bloc on March 29, Euro elections were only scheduled at the last minute when outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May failed to push her Brexit deal through the Commons. It comes as more and more Tory MPs continue to announce their bid for the hot seat. With Michael Gove now also having announced his candidacy for the position with a veiled attack on old rival and front runner Boris Johnson. In what has been perceived as a stab at the former Mayor, the Environment Secretary claimed that he is more 'capable' and said the next leader cannot just 'respect' the vote but must have the 'wherewithal to deliver it'. The Conservative Party leadership contest has redrawn old battle lines as Michael Gove announced his candidacy by making a sly stab at front runner Boris Johnson In what has been perceived as a stab at the former London Mayor (pictured), the Environment Secretary said that the next leader cannot just 'respect' the Brexit vote but must have the 'wherewithal to deliver it'All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility