Britain's opposition Labour Party comfortably won a by-election for a vacant parliamentary seat on Friday, a result Labour said sent a signal to the ruling coalition to rethink its austerity policies. The centre-left Liberal Democrats, whose popularity has plunged since they joined the Conservative-led coalition government, were soundly beaten in a constituency they had lost by only a whisker in the national election eight months ago.
But their tally in the first such election since May was better than expected, which some analysts said may help the Lib Dem leader shore up support for the coalition within his party. The centre-right Conservatives trailed in a poor third place in Oldham East and Saddleworth, in northern England. Opposition Labour leader Ed Miliband said voters had sent a clear message to the government to rethink spending cuts and rises in VAT sales tax and student fees that the coalition is pushing through to curb a record peacetime budget deficit.
"They've said to the government: Think again on VAT, think again on the trebling of tuition fees, think again on the police cuts," he said. The Lib Dems have had a torrid time since signing up to Britain's first coalition government since World War Two, freefalling in opinion polls and facing stern criticism for backing austerity cuts they had once passionately opposed.
Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron put a brave face on the result, saying governing parties rarely took seats off opposition parties in special elections. "I want to make sure we do everything we can, ... as we are taking difficult decisions, to go on explaining why those decisions are necessary," he said. Conservative leaders denied they had not tried to win.