UKIP hopes for historic by-election win in Clacton
Labour wins Middleton by-election, but UKIP slashes majority
(35 minutes later)
Counting is under way in by-elections in Essex and Greater Manchester, which will be seen as key tests of public opinion ahead of the general election.
Labour has held the Greater Manchester seat of Heywood and Middleton in a by-election, but with its majority slashed by the UK Independence Party.
In Clacton, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) is hoping the former Conservative Douglas Carswell will be voted back in, as UKIP's first MP.
Candidate Liz McInnes won by a 617-vote margin, down from Labour's 5,971 majority at the 2010 general election.
The Eurosceptic party also hopes for gains in Heywood and Middleton to show it can challenge Labour in the North.
The result of the by-election in Clacton, Essex, which UKIP is expected to win, is due later on Friday morning.
The results are expected in the early hours of Friday morning.
Its candidate Douglas Carswell, stood down as an MP after defecting from the Conservatives in August.
UKIP deputy leader Paul Nuttall told the BBC his party was demanding a recount in Heywood and Middleton because the gap between it and Labour, which has held the seat since 1983, was only "around 600 votes". Voter turnout was 36%.
A "bundle check" of votes took place in Heywood and Middleton, because of the closeness of the result in the seat, which has been held by Labour since its creation in 1983. Turnout was 36%.
'Optimistic'
MP's death
Conservative Communities Secretary Eric Pickles appeared to admit UKIP was likely to beat his party in Clacton, saying on BBC One's Question Time: "I live in optimistic hope that a Conservative will be returned tonight, but I fear I will be disappointed."
Conservative Iain Gartside came third with 3,496 votes and Liberal Democrat Anthony Smith fourth with 1,457.
Mr Carswell, a Conservative MP since 2005, defected to UKIP in August. He also resigned as an MP, triggering the by-election.
Ms McInnes told the BBC: "I'm going to work damn hard in this constituency. People here will have an MP who is going to fight for their interests."
UKIP leader Nigel Farage is hoping the surprise defection will deliver his party a historic first Westminster victory - although the former Conservative MP Bob Spink briefly represented the party in 2008 before standing as an independent in 2010.
Meanwhile, Conservative Communities Secretary Eric Pickles appeared to admit UKIP was likely to beat his party in Clacton, saying on BBC One's Question Time: "I live in optimistic hope that a Conservative will be returned tonight, but I fear I will be disappointed."
Mr Carswell won Clacton for the Conservatives in 2010 with 53% of the vote and Labour on 25%.
When Mr Carswell, a Conservative MP since 2005, defected, he also resigned as an MP to trigger the by-election.
Polls suggest Mr Carswell will keep the seat - in which turnout was 51%.
Polls suggest he will keep the seat - in which turnout was 51%. Mr Carswell told the BBC: "It's looking pretty encouraging. We have a long way to go, but so far, so good."
Five candidates are vying for Heywood and Middleton, which had been held by Labour MP Jim Dobbin until his death last month.
The Heywood and Middleton poll was prompted by the death of long-serving Labour MP Jim Dobbin last month.
It has been a Labour seat since its creation, with Mr Dobbin representing it from 1997. At the 2010 general election, he took the seat with a majority of 5,971 and just over 40% of the vote. The Conservatives were second, followed by the Lib Dems, BNP, UKIP and an independent.
Full details of the results as they come in - and the reaction - will be on the BBC News website and the BBC News Channel throughout the night.
