Labour increase majority in Barnsley as Lib Dems lose deposit.

Labour have won the by-election in Barnsley by increasing their share of the vote to 61% (from 47%) on a reduced turnout of 36.5% (56.4% 2010 GE).

The Lib Dems came sixth, their share of the vote falling from 17.3% to 4.18%behind UKIP, BNP, the Cons and an independent.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/news/uk-politics-12643639 >

Labour win Barnsley Central by-election Dan Jarvis took 60.8% of the vote for Labour Labour's Dan Jarvis has won the Barnsley Central by-election, while the Lib Dems slipped to sixth in the South Yorkshire seat.

UKIP came second, with the Tories in third, the BNP in fourth and independent Tony Devoy in fifth.

The turnout in the by-election was 36.5%, compared with 56.4% at the last General Election.

The contest was prompted by the resignation of former Labour MP Eric Illsley over fiddling his expenses.

Labour took 60.8% of the vote, UKIP's Jane Collins 12.19%, the Conservatives' James Hockney 8.25%, the BNP's Enis Dalton 6.04%, Independent Tony Devoy 5.23% and the Liberal Democrats' Dominic Carman 4.18%.

Mr Carman lost his deposit. He said: "The voters here in Barnsley have given me and the Liberal Democrats a kicking. We can take it."

The by-election is only the second since the coalition government took power last May, the other being January's contest for Oldham East and Saddleworth.

At the general election Illsley held Barnsley Central with a majority of just over 11,000 and 47% of the vote, with the Liberal Democrats in second place, six votes ahead of the Conservatives.

But the MP resigned his seat after pleading guilty to falsely claiming £14,000 in parliamentary expenses. He was later jailed for a year.

BBC political reporter Robin Brant said the result was humiliating for Nick Clegg who would see it as a first sign of the battering his party could expect in some parts of the country as the Coalition's cuts start to bite.

An excellent result!

Labour has increased its share of the vote and retained the seat.

UKIP has beaten the Tories into second place.

The Tories share of the vote has reduced.

The BNP share of the vote has reduced.

An Independent has beaten the Lib Dems.

The Lib Dems came 6th in the poll, despite gaining 2nd place in May last year at the General Election.

The Lib Dems also lost their deposit as they couldn't even gain 5% share of the vote.

This result doesn't bode well for the Lib Dems in the forthcoming council elections.

It's a pity Labour didn't look after it's voters (especially the pensioners) as much as it did the super rich, or else we wouldn't be in this hellish situation.

UKIP coming 2nd is a bit of a worry until you see they got 12 or 13%.

The BNP are very close to being finished. After Oldham a few weeks ago, the Salford council by-election tonight where they were beaten by the English Democrats and the Barnsley result where they usually pick up a decent vote in the council elections.

I think Griffin is trying to destroy the BNP so he can start again with a civil rights movement. I've thought this for a couple of years and I've not seen anything to change my mind. It's a cash making scam for him, his family and loyal servants on the Euro gravy train.

It's hilariously funny to watch.

I'm amazed at the poor turnout. Particularly given the number of people who don't seem to be short of an opinion about what the current or previous government are/were doing.

UKIP coming 2nd is a bit of a worry until you see they got 12 or 13%.

Why would that be a worry? Unless you are very childish and only deal in "UKIP are nutters" insults I fail to see anything to worry about. Mild hope for me, By-Elections don't mean much often but it's still nice to see.

IMO they are the most rational party on offer for anyone who is seriously informed about the major issues facing this country or what's left of it. That's not to say I agree with every action or policy but the main planks of policy are a hit in my book.

Lib dems punished for their broken promises. Shame.

I'm amazed at the poor turnout.

Precisely so. I'm also surprised that Labour supporters think they can take heart from this by-election, in which the Labour candidate received less votes than they managed at the last General Election. Their vote may have fallen by a smaller ratio than anyone else's did ... but it has fallen. That means that less than nobody was sufficiently upset by the coalition's performance so far as to actually change their vote to a Labour one.

It is no big deal Labour winning Barnsley in a mid term election.

1983 Roy Mason 21,847 votes

1987 Eric Illsley 26,139 votes

1992 Eric Illsley 27,048 votes

1997 Eric Illsley 28,090 votes

2001 Eric Illsley 19,181 votes

2005 Eric Illsley 17,478 votes

2010 Eric Illsley 17,487 votes

2011 Dan Jarvis 14,724 votes

A victory? Hmm. Hopefully Dan Jarvis will become part of a credible opposition but halving your vote and continuing the decline over 14 short years looks more like like a massive kick up the arse to me.