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Labour win Barnsley by-election
2011-03-04 08:03:31
4 March 2011 Last updated at 08:59 Share this page Delicious Digg Facebook reddit StumbleUpon Twitter Email Print Lib Dems slump to sixth as Labour win Barnsley poll
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//Dominic Carman: 'The Liberal Democrats will continue to fight against the legacy of debt left by Labour"
"I grew up in Margaret Thatcher's Britain. I remember how angry it made me feel. Whole communities abandoned to unemployment, public services run down, talents wasted, opportunities taken away.
"Thatcher was wrong then and Cameron is wrong now."
UKIP leader Nigel Farage welcomed the party's performance - which saw it nearly double its share of the vote. "We are the winners tonight," he said. "We have come from nowhere to come second in this election."
The by-election is only the second since the coalition government took power last May, the other being January's contest for Oldham East and Saddleworth which Labour also won comfortably.
BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins said the result would be a real concern for the Lib Dems ahead of May's English council elections although it remained to be seen whether the slump in their support was a one-off or a sign of a wider trend.