Britain's Labour Party hold off UKIP to win Stoke by-election

REUTERS

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Labour Party won a parliamentary by-election for the Stoke Central seat on Friday, fending off a challenge from the anti-European Union UK Independence Party which had hoped to capitalise on the area's pro-Brexit stance.

 

Labour won by a comfortable margin over UKIP, with Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives in third.

 

The former industrial city had been a safe Labour seat since 1950, but the party's support for staying in the EU put it at odds with 70 percent of Stoke voters who backed Brexit.

 

UKIP's failure to capitalise on that sentiment, despite pouring resources into the campaign and putting party leader Paul Nuttall forward as its candidate, is expected to raise questions about the party's ability to build its influence in parliament, where it currently has just one seat.

 

(Reporting by William James; editing by Michael Holden)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-02-24

One would like to think that this is the end for UKIP.

'The people who cast the votes don't decide an election, the people who count the votes do.'

Electoral fraud in Labour-controlled areas is endemic.
 

2 hours ago, 4737 Carlin said:

'The people who cast the votes don't decide an election, the people who count the votes do.'

Electoral fraud in Labour-controlled areas is endemic.
 

So that was why  Labour won in Cumbria (OOPS they didnt)

2 hours ago, 4737 Carlin said:

'The people who cast the votes don't decide an election, the people who count the votes do.'

Electoral fraud in Labour-controlled areas is endemic.
 

Go on tell us about all the dead people still on the electoral role.

Nuttall comes across as a used car salesman. I don't know how UKIP can clean their act up before the next election but they'll need to purge quite heavily to have any chance of success.

3 hours ago, 4737 Carlin said:

'The people who cast the votes don't decide an election, the people who count the votes do.'

Electoral fraud in Labour-controlled areas is endemic.
 

Ha! Ha!  There's always an excuse isn't there.  I don't think that it is the death (yet) of UKIP.  However Farage said that winning in Stoke was crucial and given that it is the serious heartland for Brexit, if UKIP can't win here then where can they win?

UKIP's failure to capitalise . . .  despite. . .  putting party leader Paul Nuttall forward as its candidate

 

Despite? More like BECAUSE of the notorious bespectacled purveyor of porkies they put their money on.