Gordon Brown's hopes of political survival were dealt another blow late last night as the far right British National Party gained its first seat in the European Parliament.

The BNP took the last of the six seats in Yorkshire and the Humber sending shockwaves through the mainstream political parties.

There will be dismay among Labour MPs that the party's vote has fallen so sharply that it has opened the door for the far right and it will intensify the pressure for a leadership challenge.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham said that it was "deeply uncomfortable" to see the BNP polling in such large numbers.

He said that they had been the beneficiaries of an "anti-politics mood" which had hit all the main parties in the wake of the MPs' expenses scandal.

"It is a sad moment in British politics," he said.

"The BNP is like the ultimate protest vote. It is how to deliver the establishment a two-fingered salute. I think largely it is a comment on Westminster politics."

The BNP took the seat from Labour which saw its share of the vote in the region drop by eight per cent on the last European elections in 2004.

BNP leader Nick Griffin said the party's presence in the European Parliament would ``transform'' British politics.

He said: "The party is going to go on and grow very rapidly. We're going to be major contenders in a number of places in the next general election and the next wave of council elections – we're going to do very well indeed."

He said it was a "bad moment" for mainstream parties and a "great moment for democracy". "Let's face it – they've all ruined this country, they've transformed it into a crime-ridden slum without any industry left."