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Conservatives await Crewe victory Tories snatch Crewe from Labour
(about 3 hours later)
The Conservative Party is hoping for its first by-election gain since 1982, after polls closed in the constituency of Crewe and Nantwich. The Conservative Party has achieved its first by-election gain in 26 years, taking the previously safe Labour seat of Crewe and Nantwich.
Counting is under way, with a result expected early on Friday. Tory candidate Edward Timpson won 7,860 more votes than his Labour rival, overturning a 7,000 Labour majority at the last general election.
There are 10 candidates but it is widely seen as a two-way fight as the Tories seek to overturn Gwyneth Dunwoody's 7,000 Labour majority. Shadow local government minister Eric Pickles said: "We've taken it and we've taken it big."
BBC political editor Nick Robinson said Labour officials had already been "conceding a defeat". The contest followed the death of veteran Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody.
Her daughter Tamsin stood as the Labour candidate.
The by-election follows dismal recent local election results for Labour.
'Powerful message''Powerful message'
Communities Secretary Hazel Blears appeared to accept the result in Crewe and Nantwich would be bad. BBC political editor Nick Robinson said that, if Tory leader David Cameron becomes prime minister at the next election, "many will look back at the vote in Crewe and Nantwich as the moment they first believed it was possible".
She told BBC One's Question Time: "It might be that the electorate have decided to send us a pretty powerful message but the last thing they want is the Labour Party to turn on itself and be obsessed with our own affairs and not what the public want." Mr Timpson, a 34-year-old barrister, took 20,549 votes. Ms Dunwoody was second on 12,679, with Liberal Democrat Elizabeth Shenton third on 6,040.
RESULTS PROGRAMME Turnout was 58.2%, which is very high for a by-election, but was down slightly from 60% at the 2005 general election.
There will be full coverage of the results in a special programme presented by Jon Sopel on the BBC's News Channel and BBC Two starting at 0050 BST on Friday. Shadow Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said: "I think there will be lots of questions asked in the aftermath of the Crewe by-election.
"We have no idea what the results going to be, but if it goes badly for Labour, I think he [Gordon Brown] is in trouble."
The by-election was held because of the death of long-serving Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody last month.
The campaign has taken place during a dire few weeks for Mr Brown, who has followed a dismal set of local election results with the row over the abolition of the 10p tax rate.
Hazel Blears is quizzed on Question Time about the Crewe and Nantwich campaignHazel Blears is quizzed on Question Time about the Crewe and Nantwich campaign
Labour's candidate is Tamsin Dunwoody, daughter of Gwyneth, who has made great play of her local credentials. For Labour, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears said voters had "decided to send us a pretty powerful message but the last thing they want is the Labour Party to turn on itself and be obsessed with our own affairs and not what the public want".
But her campaign has been controversial because of its alleged "class war" focus on Conservative candidate Edward Timpson's "Tory toff" background. The campaign has taken place during a dire few weeks for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who has followed a poor set of local election results with the row over the abolition of the 10p tax rate.
The Conservatives, meanwhile, have said every vote for them would send a message to Mr Brown about his decision to axe the 10p rate. Conservative leader David Cameron is expected to capitalise on the victory by calling an early by-election in Henley, the Westminster seat due to be vacated by new London Mayor Boris Johnson.
The party's last by-election gain was in Mitcham and Morden in 1982. The Tories hope to build on their momentum, with June 26 and July 3 being talked of as the likely dates for a contest.
At the 2005 general election, Gwyneth Dunwoody won Crewe and Nantwich for Labour with 21,240 votes, from Conservative candidate Eveleigh Moore-Dutton on 14,162 and Lib Dem Paul Roberts on 8,083. During canvassing in Crewe and Nantwich, Ms Dunwoody criticised Mr Timpson's "Tory toff" background, leading to accusations that Labour was using "class war" tactics.
Ladbrokes stopped taking bets on the outcome of the by-election on Tuesday, saying the Conservatives had become "unbackable" at 16/1 on. The Conservative Party's last by-election gain was in Mitcham and Morden, south-west London, in 1982.
Elizabeth Shenton is standing for the Lib Dems but, although her party specialises in snatching surprise by-election victories, it has been trailing in the opinion polls. In 2005 Gwyneth Dunwoody won Crewe and Nantwich for Labour with 21,240 votes, from Conservative candidate Eveleigh Moore-Dutton on 14,162 and Lib Dem Paul Roberts on 8,083.
But deputy leader Vince Cable told the BBC: "What's very clear is there is a lot of support draining away from the Labour Party - an enormous amount."
The other seven candidates are: The Flying Brick - The Official Monster Raving Loony Party; Gemma Garrett - Independent; Mike Nattrass - UK Independence Party; David Roberts - English Democrats; Robert Smith - Green Party; Paul Thorogood - Cut Tax on Petrol and Diesel; Mark Walklate - Independent.