UKIP hasn't failed, the system has

The election is all but over and the results are bitterly disappointing for UKIP.

But let's be clear: the results don't mean we've failed in this election, we are (again) victims of a broken system.

The SNP have routed Labour and the Lib Dems from Scotland, taking 56 of the 59 seats north of the border. But they've done this with a mere 5% of the vote compared to the 15% or so that UKIP will finish on with one or two MPs.

The good news is that Douglas Carswell has held his Clacton seat, albeit with a reduced majority, but disappointingly Mark Reckless has lost his seat to the Tories. Almost all of UKIP's target seats have been declared and Labour or the Conservatives have won them so far much to the surprise of not only the candidates involved but commentators on both sides of the political spectrum.

We still have Thanet South to wait for where Nigel Farage presents our best hope of coming out of the election with two MPs but it's far from certain. If he loses he has pledged to stand down as leader but crucially hasn't pledged not to stand for re-election to get a fresh mandate to lead the party.

We'll have more analysis later in the day after the bulk of the council seats have been declared but our message to supporters is that 2.5m votes in a general election is not a failure. Take your disappointment and anger at the broken system that has disenfranchised 1 in 7 voters and use it to motivate you to build on the party's success and bring about future victories.