Labour overjoyed as cuts coalition gets a drubbing

Labour and Co-operative candidate Andy Sawford won by nearly 8,000 votes in Corby, a 14.8 per cent swing from the 2010 general election - and Labour's first by-election gain from the Tories since 1997.

Mr Sawford, son of steelworker-turned-MP Phil Sawford, thanked supporters for a "historic win."

"Today middle England has spoken and they have sent a very clear message to David Cameron," he said.

"This is truly a significant result."

Tory rival Christine Emmett - dropping 15.6 per cent to 26.6 per cent - said her campaign was never going to be easy.

And Lib Dems were desperately demanding a recount for candidate Jill Hope after crashing from 14.5 per cent of the vote in 2010 to 4.96 per cent - a result so low they now stand to lose their deposit.

Corby's former Conservative MP Louise Mensch, who moved to New York in August, said she herself had lost them the vote citing "large and entirely understandable local anger."

Ms Mensch - who controversially scuppered a cross-party committee's strident criticism of News Corp boss Rupert Murdoch shortly before resigning - is now a paid columnist for Murdoch tabloid The Sun.

The resulting media spotlight on the borough is believed to have boosted turnout in Corby to 44 per cent.

But elsewhere few voters made it to the polls.

In Manchester Central, Labour's Lucy Powell beat the Lib Dems' Marc Ramsbottom with a whopping 69 per cent of the vote to Mr Ramsbottom's 9.4 per cent - and Tory Matthew Sephton lost his deposit with 4.5 per cent.

But the 18.6 per cent turnout was the lowest since a 1942 Polar by-election just after the Blitz.

Fellow Labour candidate Stephen Doughty won Cardiff South and Penarth on a turnout of just over 25 per cent.

Mr Doughty won 47.3 per cent of the vote against runner-up Craig Williams on 19.9 per cent and Lib Dem Bablin Molik's 10.8 per cent. Communist Party candidate Rob Griffiths took 1.1 per cent.