Crushing Crewe by-election defeat for Labour
The Crewe and Nantwich by-election saw the Conservatives sweep to a resounding victory.
Labour’s 7,000 majority in the constituency was overturned by the Tories by a margin of almost 8,000 votes.
The contest followed the death of veteran Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody.
The result, which marks the first Conservative by-election win since 1983, comes as a fresh blow for Prime Minister Gordon Brown following Labour's poor showing in the May 1 local elections.
Tory winner Edward Timpson conceded that the poll was probably the first time many of his voters had backed the Conservatives.
"I have a message for you," he said, after the result was announced. "I am on your side and I won't let you down."
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Mr Timpson added: "I am going to stand up for local families, local jobs and, whenever I need to, stand up to the Government on your behalf."
Despite a spirited campaign by Labour candidate Tamsin Dunwoody - the daughter of Gwyneth - voters remained angry at the scrapping of the 10p tax rate.
Mrs Dunwoody warned Mr Timpson: "It is an honour to serve the people of Crewe and Nantwich - an honour I hope you take seriously. I will be watching you."
The constituency was created for the 1983 General Election, out of parts of former Labour seat Crewe and the former Tory seat of Nantwich.
Result in full: Edward Timpson (C) 20,539; Tamsin Dunwoody (Lab) 12,679; Elizabeth Shenton (LD) 6,040; Mike Nattrass (UKIP) 922; Robert Smith (Green) 359; David Roberts (Eng Dem) 275; The Flying Brick (Loony) 236; Mark Walklate (ND) 217; Paul Thorogood (CTDP) 118; Gemma Garrett (ND) 113.
''Daily Politics'' poll, 46% of people think David Cameron would be the best Prime Minister
The Conservative Party's Edward Timpson has won the Crewe and Nantwich by-election in the United Kingdom with a majority of 7,860 votes. This is the party's first by-election victory in 26 years and party leader David Cameron visited the constituency earlier.

Labour Party candidate Tamsin Dunwoody said that the 17.6% swing was a "mid-term blip" and that the people of Crewe and Nantwich will be "watching" Mr. Timpson. However David Cameron proclaimed the result "the end of New Labour" calling the Conservatives' overturning of the 7,000 Labour majority "the start of something different and something bigger".

He criticised the Labour Party's campaign in Crewe and Nantwich, which had described the Conservative candidate as a "toff", as "negative", "xenophobic" and "class war" but said he realises the differences between by-election and general election results. The newly elected Mr. Timpson said in his victory speech that "I am going to stand up for local families, local jobs and, whenever I need to, stand up to the Government on your behalf." 

Miss Dunwoody is confident of Gordon Brown's leadership, telling reporters earlier that "we know the Prime Minister can lead us through this." Labour's deputy leader Harriet Harman also defended Mr. Brown's position, saying that "the overwhelming majority of people in the Labour Party... are fully behind Gordon Brown."

Chris Huhne, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, defended his party's third-place result as "really rather robust" and said the people's votes were anti-Labour, not pro-Conservative. The UK Independence Party are pleased with the result, claiming that it confirms the party's position as "the fourth political force in the country" and their candidate Mike Nattrass said "this has been a stepping stone for the European elections next year." 

===Result===