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- Labour clings on in the Peterborough by-election against a strong challenge from the Brexit Party.
- Nigel Farage's anti-EU party had been widely expected to claim the seat.
- However, Labour's Lisa Forbes wins the seat on a much-reduced majority for her party.
- The Brexit Party had been strong favourites to claim their first seat in the UK parliament.
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LONDON - The Labour party has won the Peterborough by-election, despite widespread predictions that Nigel Farage's Brexit party would claim the seat.
Lisa Forbes won the seat by a majority of just 683 votes in the strongly Leave-voting area after a bitterly fought campaign. She said her victory showed that "the
Bookies had the Brexit Party as 6/1 favourites to claim the Cambridgeshire seat as their first in the UK parliament, after their victory in the European elections.
However, Labour had a more effective ground campaign, managing to cling on despite a large fall in their majority.
Peterborough by-election result
Labour: 30.9% (-17.2)
Brexit: 28.9% (+28.9)
Conservative: 21.4% (-25.5)
Liberal Democrats: 12.3% (+8.9)
Greens: 3.1% (+1.3)
UKIP: 1.2% (+1.2)
*changes on 2017 general election
The by-election was called after the incumbent Fiona Onasanya was convicted for perverting the course of justice.