Conservatives pushed into fourth place in Hartlepool

2.09.32pm UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 1st Oct 2004

Candidate Jody Dunn achieved a 19% swing from Labour to the Lib Dems

Hartlepool barrister Jody Dunn came just over 2,000 votes behind Labour in the Hartlepool by election, with a 19% swing from Labour to the Lib Dems, pushing the Tories into 4th place behind UKIP.

The results were:

Labour 12752 40.7% (-18.4%)

Lib Dems 10719 34.2% (+19.2%)

UKIP 3193 10.2% (+10.2%)

Cons 3044 9.7% (-11.1%)

Others 1654

Labour Majority 2033

Swing: 18.8% from Labour to Lib Dems

Commenting on the Hartlepool by-election result, President of the Liberal Democrats, Simon Hughes MP said:

"This is another excellent result for the Liberal Democrats, maintaining our momentum.

"It is the only time the Tories have gone from second to fourth since the Tory Party was formed."

"This has been totally disastrous for the Conservatives...What it underlines is that the Liberal Democrats are the real opposition in British politics."