30.11.12
Labour wins trio of by-elections
Labour held its seats in all three of yesterday’s by-elections, with Ukip coming in second in two out of three, following a surge in national support.
In Rotherham, Sarah Champion (pictured above) became the new Labour MP with 9,866 votes. Ukip won 4,648 votes. The by-election was held after the seat’s previous Labour MP, Denis MacShane, quit over an expenses scandal.
Champion, chief executive of a children's hospice, said: “Cameron's Tories have shown what they think of Rotherham, and today this result tells David Cameron what Rotherham thinks of the Tories.”
Andrew McDonald won Middlesborough with 10,201 votes. Ukip received 1,990 and the Lib Dems took 1,672 votes.
In Croydon North, Steve Reed won the election with 15,898 votes, followed by the Conservatives with 4,137 and Ukip with 1,400.
Ukip leader Nigel Farage said: “Our previous best-ever by-election result, a fortnight ago, was 14.3% and this one is comfortably over 20%. Whichever way you look at it, UKIP is on the rise.”
(Image: Anna Gowthorpe/PA Wire)
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