The results are in, and it's a fairly unsurprising outcome that all but the most excitable political commentators have been predicting for weeks:
LAB - 42.1
LD - 31.9
CON - 12.8
UKIP - 5.8
No real surprises for those who felt the Liberal Democrats were never seriously in the contest, but there will be some disquiet within the third-placed party ranks as to the 'gentle' campaign run by the Conservatives.
Reaction from the party leaders below:
ED MILIBAND - Labour leader
"This is the first step in a long journey for Labour. But more importantly, I hope the government will listen to what they've said about those key issues. I think the voters have sent a very clear message. They've said to the government: 'Think again on VAT, think again on the trebling of tuition fees, think again on the police cuts that are going to affect their communities"
NICK CLEGG - Lib Dem leader and deputy prime minister
"This was a very hard-fought contest but we were not able to gain this Labour seat on this occasion. I am proud of each and every one of the hundreds of activists and volunteers who have brought the fight to Labour's front door in a way that will have confounded our critics. It was always going to be a big ask to take this seat from Labour, given the circumstances. We are undertaking some enormously difficult decisions because Labour left Britain's economy in a mess"
DAVID CAMERON - Prime minister and Conservative leader
"I think we fought a good campaign. Our candidate, Kashif Ali, was a strong candidate, I was one of the first prime ministers for many many years to campaign personally in an English by-election. I enjoyed doing that, I'm proud of the campaign we fought. But of course we started in third place, we ended in third place, and that's often the way with by-elections"
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