Ukip are celebrating after getting their first ever MP - and could now be on the verge of getting into power as a government for the first time next year.
After the Tories' humiliating defeat, Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said: ‘Let me be blunt. What we have seen is a simple truth. This just puts Miliband closer to victory. This has just made his job of getting into Number 10 easier.'
The Prime Minister this morning added: ‘What last night demonstrates is that if you see a big Ukip vote, you will end up with Ed Miliband as Prime Minister, Ed Balls as Chancellor and Labour in power.
‘And more to the point, you won’t have the long-term economic plan which is really beginning to deliver for this country the stability and security people want.’
Following the victory, an ecstatic Ukip leader Nigel Farage declared Ukip were now a 'national party.' He celebrated his party's historic victory, and the fact they are now represented at Westminster, by drinking beer in a pub until almost 5am this morning.
He said: ‘Let me just say, I have had these conversations with backbench Conservatives and even had these conversations with backbench Labour MPs. I wouldn’t be surprised over the course of the next few months if there were more defections.’
Asked if that would include a Labour MP switching to Ukip he added: ‘Let’s see, don’t rule it out.’
In his acceptance speech, Mr Carswell explained his decision to stand down after defecting from the Tories.
'I resigned from Parliament to face this election because I answer first, foremost and last to you, you are my boss, I will not let you down,' he said.
'To my new party I offer these thoughts: humility when we win, modesty when we are proved right.
'If we speak with passion, let it always be tempered by compassion. We must be a party for all Britain and all Britons: first and second generation as much as every other.
'Our strength must lie in our breadth. If we stay true to that there is nothing that we cannot achieve.
'Nothing we cannot achieve in Essex and East Anglia, in England and the whole country beyond.'
Ukip's next target is Rochester and Strood, where Mr Carswell's fellow defector from the Tories, Mark Reckless, is hoping to return to Parliament.
Mr Carswell said: 'In Rochester, as in Clacton, I believe voters will reject negative campaigns by old party machines.'
In fact, Ukip very nearly ended up with two MPs on what turned out to be a great night for the up and coming party.
At the other by-election at Heywood & Middleton in Rochdale the party ran Labour close, with Labour's Liz McInnes winning it by just 617 votes over the Ukip candidate John Bickley (11,633 votes to 11,016 votes).
Labour may have won - just - in Heywood and Middleton but they'll be greatly concerned at the fact that Ukip almost beat them in a constituency which has always been a safe Labour seat and which has never had a non-Labour MP.
As in many modern by-elections, the turnout in both Clacton and Heywood & Middleton was low.
Carswell's victory for Ukip means that 12 political parties will be represented in the House of Commons, thought to be the biggest number since 1945 and an indication that Britain's traditional two-party system is fragmenting.
It is the first time an MP who has defected and stood under a different banner in a by-election has won since 1973, when Labour MP Dick Taverne resigned his seat and stood for 'Democratic Labour'.
The odds on Ukip now being part of a coalition government and getting into power for the first time after the 2015 General Election in May have now been slashed from 25-1 to just 6-1 - and anti-EU Farage has indicated that he would like to be Minister for Europe in such a government.
'What I will say is this: if things go well next spring, I would like to be minister for Europe,' he said. 'I mean that quite seriously.'
'I would like to be the person who goes to Brussels and says, "We want to trade with you. We want reciprocal relationships. But this European Treaty doesn't work for us, and so we are breaking it".'
Miliband takes a step towards Number 10: Panicked Tories admit Ukip's thumping win in Clacton leaves Labour 'closer to victory'
By Matt Chorley, Political Editor for MailOnline and Tom McTague, Deputy Political Editor for MailOnline
10 October 2014
Daily Mail
David Cameron's hopes of winning the next election were in disarray this morning after rebel defector Douglas Carswell became Ukip's first elected MP with a thumping victory over the Tories.
Mr Carswell comfortably won the Clacton by-election with a 12,404 majority - a result which senior Tories this morning admitted left Ed Miliband in pole position to be the next Prime Minister.
Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said: ‘Let me be blunt. What we have seen is a simple truth. This just puts Miliband closer to victory. This has just made his job of getting into Number 10 easier.'
The Prime Minister this morning added: ‘What last night demonstrates is that if you see a big Ukip vote, you will end up with Ed Miliband as Prime Minister, Ed Balls as Chancellor and Labour in power.
‘And more to the point, you won’t have the long-term economic plan which is really beginning to deliver for this country he stability and security people want.’
Following the victory, Nigel Farage declared Ukip were now a 'national party' as he revealed he wanted to be minister for Europe in a coalition government.
Douglas Carswell (pictured, left, celebrating with Nigel Farage) is Ukip's first ever elected MP in the House of Commons, representing Clacton, the constituency he represented as a Tory before defecting to Ukip
Nigel Farage said Ukip was making 'staggering gains in stridently Labour territory' after Mr Carswell's victory
David Cameron said a 'big' vote for Ukip at the next election would hand victory to Labour, leaving Ed Miliband as Prime Minister
Mr Farage, who celebrated the party’s historic by-election drinking beer in a UKIP supporting pub until 4.45am, predicted there would be more defections in the coming months.
He said: ‘Let me just say, I have had these conversations with backbench Conservatives and even had these conversations with backbench Labour MPs. I wouldn’t be surprised over the course of the next few months if there were more defections.’
Asked if that would include a Labour MP switching to Ukip he added: ‘Let’s see, don’t rule it out.’
Mr Miliband said the Tories were now ‘in retreat’, but claimed there would not be a ‘shred of complacency’ for Labour after barely edging out Nigel Farage’s party in Heywood and Middleton.
He said: ‘What we saw last night was a Tory party losing in their own backyard in Clacton and in retreat on what used to be their frontline in the northwest.’
Mr Farage now hopes to use the stunning victory as a springboard to winning several seats at next year's general election, boasting of a 'shift in the tectonic plates of British politics'.
The victory came after Ukip's narrow defeat to Labour's Liz McInnes in the Heywood and Middleton by-election.
The Eurosceptic party finished just 617 votes from victory in the Greater Manchester constituency, raising serious questions about Ed Miliband's leadership.
Mr Farage said Ukip's victory in Clacton indicated that voters know that 'if you vote Ukip you get Ukip'. He added that his party was making 'staggering gains in stridently Labour territory'.
In his acceptance speech, Mr Carswell explained his decision to stand down after defecting from the Tories.
'I resigned from Parliament to face this election because I answer first, foremost and last to you, you are my boss, I will not let you down,' he said.
'To my new party I offer these thoughts: humility when we win, modesty when we are proved right.
'If we speak with passion, let it always be tempered by compassion. We must be a party for all Britain and all Britons: first and second generation as much as every other.
'Our strength must lie in our breadth. If we stay true to that there is nothing that we cannot achieve.
'Nothing we cannot achieve in Essex and East Anglia, in England and the whole country beyond.'
Ukip's next target is Rochester and Strood, where Mr Carswell's fellow defector Mark Reckless is hoping to return to Parliament.
Mr Carswell said: 'In Rochester, as in Clacton, I believe voters will reject negative campaigns by old party machines.'
This morning Mr Farage claimed more MPs were likely to defect to Ukip within the next few months - including Labour backbenchers.
Former Tory chairman Lord Ashcroft tweeted that the Conservative party leadership 'must take a large part of the credit for the rise of Ukip'.
UKIP secured 60 per cent of the vote to just 25 per cent for the Conservatives - the Tories' worst drop in support in a by-election for 20 years.
Mr Carswell was the overwhelming favourite to retain his seat of Clacton, Essex, after triggering a by-election when he switched parties.
Turnout was 51.2 per cent with 35,386 ballot papers counted, a decrease from the 64.2 per cent turnout out at the 2010 general election.
Tory Mr Watling received 8,709 votes to finish second while Labour's Tim Young finished third with 3,957 votes.
The Ukip leader hailed last night's result as a seismic shift in British politics and vowed to double the number of his party's MPs in Parliament by winning in Rochester. He has also declared he would like to be Minister for Europe in a coalition government after May's General Election
Mr Farage celebrated Ukip's stunning by-election victory by drinking beer in a Clacton pub until 4.45am this morning
Mr Carswell was mobbed by reporters in Clacton this morning following last night's historic by-election win
Ukip defector Mark Reckless, who also triggered the by-election in Rochester and Strood, attended the count in Clacton's Princes Theatre.
Former Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik also made an appearance in support of independent candidate Charlotte Rose, who was campaigning for sexual freedom and finished in last place with 56 votes.
Mr Carswell previously secured the Clacton seat in 2010 with a majority of 12,068 votes over Labour's Ivan Henderson, having first being elected to Parliament in 2005 in the Harwich seat.
His victory for Ukip means that 12 political parties will be represented in the House of Commons, thought to be the biggest number since 1945 and an indication that Britain's traditional two-party system is fragmenting.
It is the first time an MP who has defected and stood under a different banner in a by-election has won since 1973, when Labour MP Dick Taverne resigned his seat and stood for 'Democratic Labour'.
Tory defector Douglas Carswell has made history by becoming UKIP's first ever elected MP in the Commons
Mr Carswell took selfies with constituents in Clacton-on-Sea this morning, as he became the first elected Ukip MP
The victory has piled more pressure on the Conservatives to retain the seat of Rochester and Strood, where the second defector to Mr Farage's party, Mark Reckless, will stand next month.
In an interview with the magazine Newsweek Europe, to be published today, Mr Farage makes the audacious suggestion that he is aiming for a ministerial job if Ukip wins a number of MPs in next year's election and is invited to join a coalition.
'What I will say is this: if things go well next spring, I would like to be minister for Europe,' he said. 'I mean that quite seriously.'
'I would like to be the person who goes to Brussels and says, "We want to trade with you. We want reciprocal relationships. But this European Treaty doesn't work for us, and so we are breaking it".'
Mr Carswell said Ukip's rise was 'a profound change in British politics'.
He said the strong showing in Heywood and Middleton, a 'rock-solid Labour seat' meant 'we can take votes from the centre-left as well as from the centre-right'.
He told Sky News: 'The idea that we are somehow the Tory party in exile, that myth died this evening.
'We are a different party that stands for all Britain and all Britons, from disillusioned former Labour voters to people who have given up on politics altogether, every bit as much as for traditional Conservative voters.
'This is something new, this is something different. The real significance is that result in the north of England. We are part of something that is profoundly different in British politics.'
He said his data showed that '45 per cent of people who voted Labour in 2010 voted for me.'
Dismissing the Tory attack that a vote for Ukip helps Mr Miliband reach No 10, he said that in Heywood and Middleton 'it was the Conservative vote that kept Ed Miliband's candidate in'.
Mr Carswell, who said he still had many friends in the Tory ranks despite his defection, said: 'I've even had some nice friendly texts from people in the Cabinet - they are friends and they are going to stay my friends.'
Tory minister Priti Patel, who is an Essex MP, said the result was disappointing but said people 'don't necessarily vote along traditional party lines' at by-elections and Mr Carswell had benefited from being the incumbent.
She told Sky News: 'The reality is we as a party have to look at this election now and take some lessons and learnings from that, but at the same time as we head into the general election that election campaign will be about the big issues of the day: who governs our country, who do you want as your prime minister and not about voting for alternative political parties that may actually just tap into your fears, anxieties or concerns on particular issues but don't necessarily have the policy solutions to those issues.'
The Treasury minister said there would be 'no deals' with UKIP at the general election.
Tory defector Douglas Carswell comfortably won the by-election in Clacton, Essex, with a 12,404 majority
Mr Carswell, his wife Clementine and Mr Farage enjoyed the attention after the UKIP victory was announced at Clacton Town Hall
Ukip had also been hoping to pull off a shock victory in the Greater Manchester constituency of Heywood and Middleton last night after campaigning strongly in an effort to make inroads into Labour's northern heartland.
However, despite the strong challenge from Ukip candidate John Bickley, Labour candidate Ms McInnes scraped a victory with 11,633 votes compared to Mr Bickley's 11,016.
The poll, which saw a voter turnout of just 36 per cent, was triggered by the death of Labour MP Jim Dobbin, who had held the seat since 1997.
A bitter inquest had begun within minutes of the result as Labour MP John Mann said: 'If Ed Miliband does not broaden the Labour coalition to better include working class opinion then we cannot win a majority government.'
After the result, Mr Farage said UKIP was 'ripping lumps' out of Labour in its northern heartlands.
He told Sky News: 'We are ripping lumps out of the old Labour vote in the north of England.
'The truth of what has happened in the North today is that if you are anywhere north of Birmingham, if you vote Conservative you get Labour.
'And the reason we haven't won up there, despite a fantastic campaign, is that too many people have stuck with the Conservatives, not recognising that Ukip is now the challenger to Labour in every urban seat in the north of England.'
He added that the result in the northern seat, where his party had barely contemplated victory, was 'stunning'.
Labour had approached the by-election with increasing panic amid concerns that Mr Miliband is haemorrhaging working class support on issues such as immigration and welfare.
MPs had said if UKIP finished within 2,000 votes of Labour, serious 'alarm bells would start ringing' about Mr Miliband's leadership. They finished just 617 votes ahead.
Last night Labour sources insisted their share of the vote - 41 per cent - had increased compared with the general election in 2010 and it was the Tory and Lib Dem vote which had collapsed.
But Ukip's stunning result will increase the pressure on Mr Miliband following his disastrous party conference speech, in which he forgot to make any mention of the deficit or immigration and focused on Labour's 'comfort zone' issue of the NHS.
Labour's Liz McInnes celebrates her victory after the count at the Heywood and Middleton by-election. However, she got just 617 more votes than second-placed John Bickley of Ukip
Labour candidate Ms McInnes scraped a victory with 11,633 votes compared to UKIP John Bickley's 11,016
Labour celebrated the victory in Heywood and Middleton following the closely fought battle with UKIP
In her victory speech, Ms McInnes drew a large reaction from the crowd as she said the vote showed support for Mr Miliband.
She was forced to raise her voice above the crowd and momentarily halted her speech as people laughed and heckled.
'The people gave their backing to Ed Miliband's plans for an NHS with the time to care,' she said.
'They said to David Cameron, keep your mitts off our NHS. They have rejected a Tory government that is only standing up for the privileged few.'
She later added: 'I am proud to have been selected as the new MP for Heywood and Middleton.
'Our vote held up, we had not anticipated the Tory vote collapsing quite so dramatically. But our core voters turned out. We didn't take anyone's votes for granted and we have run a very strong positive campaign.'
Asked if she expected UKIP to run have Labour so close, she said: 'To be honest with you I have been through more or less every scenario. As I said before, we don't take anyone's vote for granted.
'We work very hard and I am just pleased our vote held up. We can't choose our opponents.
'I am proud and honoured to have been selected for this area. I am not disappointed that the majority has been reduced. I knew this was going to be a tough fight and we have run a really strong positive campaign and we have fought for every single vote.'
David Cameron, who celebrated his 48th birthday yesterday, is now under intense pressure to halt the UKIP tide in Rochester and Strood, Kent, where Mark Reckless, another Tory turncoat, has triggered a by-election expected to take place next month.
The Tory campaign machine will head there today, with Mr Cameron promising to 'throw everything we can' at keeping the seat. Tory HQ is planning to recruit Labour and Lib Dem voters in a 'keep Ukip out' campaign to prevent Mr Reckless clinching another victory for UKIP.
One poll has put Mr Reckless, who defected from the Conservatives to Ukip last month, on course for victory. A double defeat to Ukip would be a grave blow to the Prime Minister, with the general election now months away, and might encourage further defections.
In Clacton, the voter turn-out was calculated at 51.2 per cent, with results announced in the early hours of today
The dramatic by-election win in Clacton comes after two years of major gains by Ukip in local and European elections.
It marks the pinnacle for a party founded just 20 years ago and which has endured a turbulent history of infighting, defections and allegations of racism, sexism and homophobia.
In 2012, with the Tories haemorrhaging support to Ukip, Mr Cameron promised to hold an in-out referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union if he remains Prime Minister after 2017.
The move, with a promise of clawing powers back from Brussels, was thought to have placated many Eurosceptics on the Conservative backbenches.
But in August this year Mr Carswell announced his shock defection to UKIP at a press conference in central London.
Mr Farage was revelling in last night's victory, during walkabout in Clacton
He lambasted the Prime Minister and senior Conservatives for not being 'serious about real change.'
Among a list of criticisms, he insisted that the failure to take a stand against the European Union was at the heart of his decision.
'They are not serious about real change. It's above all the failure to deliver on the promise of political reform that has driven me to be here today,' he said.
'Europe's the one continent on the globe that is not growing... Yet who in Westminster, who among our so-called leaders is prepared to envisage real change?'
Mr Carswell said he had been an enthusiastic cheerleader for Mr Cameron's Bloomberg speech, in which he set out proposals for an in-out referendum by 2017 if the Tories are in power after next year's general election.
But he said he did not believe the policy was 'sincere', saying the leadership wanted to secure 'just enough' to pretend change was happening.
Hours later Mr Cameron vowed to launch a 'very strong' campaign against Mr Carswell, condemning the defection as 'counter-productive'.
But it became clear that Mr Carswell's popularity in Clacton meant the Tories were fighting a losing battle from the start.
One senior Conservative said: 'There is not a Tory machine campaign machine in Clacton, it is a Carswell machine.'
The Prime Minister made a last ditch visit to Clacton last week, and acknowledged the Tories were 'the underdogs'.
The Conservative candidate fighting Mr Carswell was Giles Watling, an actor best known for his appearance as the vicar in the 1980s sitcom 'Bread', who is from the area and has been a local councillor for several years.
But in a sign of the Tory attitude to the seat, London Mayor Boris Johnson was caught out on live radio this week when he could not remember Mr Watling's name.
Quizzed on the radio about the Conservatives' chances in this week's by-election, Mr Johnson could only venture that the candidate was a 'superb man... Stirling? Girling? Something like that.'
Mr Carswell secured the Clacton seat with a majority of 12,404 ahead of Conservative candidate Giles Watling
Despite being expected to storm to victory, Mr Carswell appeared nervous as he waited for the result
Mr Carswell's switch to Ukip in August was then followed by the defection of Mark Reckless last month, on the eve of the Tory party conference.
Senior Tory strategists accepted they stood little chance of holding Clacton.
But Mr Cameron has made clear he will not give up on Mr Reckless' Rochester and Strood constituency, accusing him on betraying Tory activists who worked hard to get his 'fat ****' on the Commons benches.
Mr Reckless has a small lead in the polls, but the Conservatives believe they can hold it, and will head there on Friday afternoon after the Clacton result to campaign.
Ukip's only MP to date came when Castle Point MP Bob Spink defected from the Conservatives in 2008.
But he did not trigger a by-election, choosing instead to just sit in a different part of the Commons.
He subsequently stood unsuccessfully as an independent at the 2010 general election.
Mr Carswell was originally elected as the Conservative MP for Harwich in 2005, but was returned in Clacton in 2010 after boundary changes with a majority of over 12,000.
DOUGLAS CARSWELL: THE RADICAL EUROSCEPTIC RAISED IN AFRICA
Douglas Carswell was one of the most prominent Eurosceptic Tory MPs but his defection to Ukip in August was still a major surprise in Westminster.
The libertarian Clacton MP regularly spoke out against the Government on Europe, the economy and Parliamentary reform.
The maverick backbencher once led calls for MPs' expenses to be opened up to the public– but was then criticised after it emerged he claimed cash back for a 'love chair' for his home.
He is popular among many of his former Tory his colleagues, some of whom refused to campaign against him.
In Clacton his popularity outstrips that of the Tories. One senior Conservative said: 'There is not a Tory machine campaign machine in Clacton, it is a Carswell machine.'
Mr Carswell grew up in Uganda where his doctor parents worked.
He was educated at St Andrews School, Kenya, before moving to the exclusive Charterhouse boarding school in Surrey.
Read more: Douglas Carswell wins Clacton by-election as UKIP's first MP | Daily Mail Online
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Eurosceptic Douglas Carswell who, just a few weeks ago, defected from the Tories to the anti-EU, anti-uncontrolled immigration party in anger at the way the three Establishment parties fail to listen to the views of ordinary people, absolutely crushed his opponents in yesterday's Clacton by-election in Essex by getting a 12,404 majority, getting more votes than all the others who stood put together.
As usual before British elections these days, the Establishment did everything in their power to dissuade voters from voting for Ukip by inventing scare stories. The latest ruse is to try and scare would-be Ukip voters by saying "A vote for Ukip will end up with Labour in power."
Yet, as usual, the voters refuse to listen to the scare stories as Douglas Carswell - who had already been the MP for Clacton when he was a Tory - romped home with 21,113 votes.
After the Tories' humiliating defeat, Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said: ‘Let me be blunt. What we have seen is a simple truth. This just puts Miliband closer to victory. This has just made his job of getting into Number 10 easier.'
The Prime Minister this morning added: ‘What last night demonstrates is that if you see a big Ukip vote, you will end up with Ed Miliband as Prime Minister, Ed Balls as Chancellor and Labour in power.
‘And more to the point, you won’t have the long-term economic plan which is really beginning to deliver for this country the stability and security people want.’
Following the victory, an ecstatic Ukip leader Nigel Farage declared Ukip were now a 'national party.' He celebrated his party's historic victory, and the fact they are now represented at Westminster, by drinking beer in a pub until almost 5am this morning.
He said: ‘Let me just say, I have had these conversations with backbench Conservatives and even had these conversations with backbench Labour MPs. I wouldn’t be surprised over the course of the next few months if there were more defections.’
Asked if that would include a Labour MP switching to Ukip he added: ‘Let’s see, don’t rule it out.’
In his acceptance speech, Mr Carswell explained his decision to stand down after defecting from the Tories.
'I resigned from Parliament to face this election because I answer first, foremost and last to you, you are my boss, I will not let you down,' he said.
'To my new party I offer these thoughts: humility when we win, modesty when we are proved right.
'If we speak with passion, let it always be tempered by compassion. We must be a party for all Britain and all Britons: first and second generation as much as every other.
'Our strength must lie in our breadth. If we stay true to that there is nothing that we cannot achieve.
'Nothing we cannot achieve in Essex and East Anglia, in England and the whole country beyond.'
Ukip's next target is Rochester and Strood, where Mr Carswell's fellow defector from the Tories, Mark Reckless, is hoping to return to Parliament.
Mr Carswell said: 'In Rochester, as in Clacton, I believe voters will reject negative campaigns by old party machines.'
In fact, Ukip very nearly ended up with two MPs on what turned out to be a great night for the up and coming party.
At the other by-election at Heywood & Middleton in Rochdale the party ran Labour close, with Labour's Liz McInnes winning it by just 617 votes over the Ukip candidate John Bickley (11,633 votes to 11,016 votes).
Labour may have won - just - in Heywood and Middleton but they'll be greatly concerned at the fact that Ukip almost beat them in a constituency which has always been a safe Labour seat and which has never had a non-Labour MP.
As in many modern by-elections, the turnout in both Clacton and Heywood & Middleton was low.
Carswell's victory for Ukip means that 12 political parties will be represented in the House of Commons, thought to be the biggest number since 1945 and an indication that Britain's traditional two-party system is fragmenting.
It is the first time an MP who has defected and stood under a different banner in a by-election has won since 1973, when Labour MP Dick Taverne resigned his seat and stood for 'Democratic Labour'.
The odds on Ukip now being part of a coalition government and getting into power for the first time after the 2015 General Election in May have now been slashed from 25-1 to just 6-1 - and anti-EU Farage has indicated that he would like to be Minister for Europe in such a government.
'What I will say is this: if things go well next spring, I would like to be minister for Europe,' he said. 'I mean that quite seriously.'
'I would like to be the person who goes to Brussels and says, "We want to trade with you. We want reciprocal relationships. But this European Treaty doesn't work for us, and so we are breaking it".'
Miliband takes a step towards Number 10: Panicked Tories admit Ukip's thumping win in Clacton leaves Labour 'closer to victory'
Mr Carswell won Clacton by-election with 12,404 majority over Conservatives
Tory chairman Grant Shapps says vote makes it easier for Ed Miliband to win
David Cameron says a 'big' Ukip vote will see 'Ed Miliband as Prime Minister'
Party leader Nigel Farage says 'tectonic plates' of British politics are shifting
Mr Farage celebrated by drinking beer in Ukip-supporting pub until 4.45am
Mr Miliband says Tories are now 'in retreat' after losing in 'own backyard'
Labour MP Liz McInnes wins in Heywood and Middleton in narrow victory
Majority of 617 for Labour over Ukip candidate John Bickley in Lancashire
Tory chairman Grant Shapps says vote makes it easier for Ed Miliband to win
David Cameron says a 'big' Ukip vote will see 'Ed Miliband as Prime Minister'
Party leader Nigel Farage says 'tectonic plates' of British politics are shifting
Mr Farage celebrated by drinking beer in Ukip-supporting pub until 4.45am
Mr Miliband says Tories are now 'in retreat' after losing in 'own backyard'
Labour MP Liz McInnes wins in Heywood and Middleton in narrow victory
Majority of 617 for Labour over Ukip candidate John Bickley in Lancashire
By Matt Chorley, Political Editor for MailOnline and Tom McTague, Deputy Political Editor for MailOnline
10 October 2014
Daily Mail
David Cameron's hopes of winning the next election were in disarray this morning after rebel defector Douglas Carswell became Ukip's first elected MP with a thumping victory over the Tories.
Mr Carswell comfortably won the Clacton by-election with a 12,404 majority - a result which senior Tories this morning admitted left Ed Miliband in pole position to be the next Prime Minister.
Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said: ‘Let me be blunt. What we have seen is a simple truth. This just puts Miliband closer to victory. This has just made his job of getting into Number 10 easier.'
The Prime Minister this morning added: ‘What last night demonstrates is that if you see a big Ukip vote, you will end up with Ed Miliband as Prime Minister, Ed Balls as Chancellor and Labour in power.
‘And more to the point, you won’t have the long-term economic plan which is really beginning to deliver for this country he stability and security people want.’
Following the victory, Nigel Farage declared Ukip were now a 'national party' as he revealed he wanted to be minister for Europe in a coalition government.
Douglas Carswell (pictured, left, celebrating with Nigel Farage) is Ukip's first ever elected MP in the House of Commons, representing Clacton, the constituency he represented as a Tory before defecting to Ukip
Nigel Farage said Ukip was making 'staggering gains in stridently Labour territory' after Mr Carswell's victory
David Cameron said a 'big' vote for Ukip at the next election would hand victory to Labour, leaving Ed Miliband as Prime Minister
Mr Farage, who celebrated the party’s historic by-election drinking beer in a UKIP supporting pub until 4.45am, predicted there would be more defections in the coming months.
He said: ‘Let me just say, I have had these conversations with backbench Conservatives and even had these conversations with backbench Labour MPs. I wouldn’t be surprised over the course of the next few months if there were more defections.’
Asked if that would include a Labour MP switching to Ukip he added: ‘Let’s see, don’t rule it out.’
Mr Miliband said the Tories were now ‘in retreat’, but claimed there would not be a ‘shred of complacency’ for Labour after barely edging out Nigel Farage’s party in Heywood and Middleton.
He said: ‘What we saw last night was a Tory party losing in their own backyard in Clacton and in retreat on what used to be their frontline in the northwest.’
Mr Farage now hopes to use the stunning victory as a springboard to winning several seats at next year's general election, boasting of a 'shift in the tectonic plates of British politics'.
The victory came after Ukip's narrow defeat to Labour's Liz McInnes in the Heywood and Middleton by-election.
The Eurosceptic party finished just 617 votes from victory in the Greater Manchester constituency, raising serious questions about Ed Miliband's leadership.
Mr Farage said Ukip's victory in Clacton indicated that voters know that 'if you vote Ukip you get Ukip'. He added that his party was making 'staggering gains in stridently Labour territory'.
In his acceptance speech, Mr Carswell explained his decision to stand down after defecting from the Tories.
'I resigned from Parliament to face this election because I answer first, foremost and last to you, you are my boss, I will not let you down,' he said.
'To my new party I offer these thoughts: humility when we win, modesty when we are proved right.
'If we speak with passion, let it always be tempered by compassion. We must be a party for all Britain and all Britons: first and second generation as much as every other.
'Our strength must lie in our breadth. If we stay true to that there is nothing that we cannot achieve.
'Nothing we cannot achieve in Essex and East Anglia, in England and the whole country beyond.'
Ukip's next target is Rochester and Strood, where Mr Carswell's fellow defector Mark Reckless is hoping to return to Parliament.
Mr Carswell said: 'In Rochester, as in Clacton, I believe voters will reject negative campaigns by old party machines.'
This morning Mr Farage claimed more MPs were likely to defect to Ukip within the next few months - including Labour backbenchers.
Former Tory chairman Lord Ashcroft tweeted that the Conservative party leadership 'must take a large part of the credit for the rise of Ukip'.
UKIP secured 60 per cent of the vote to just 25 per cent for the Conservatives - the Tories' worst drop in support in a by-election for 20 years.
Mr Carswell was the overwhelming favourite to retain his seat of Clacton, Essex, after triggering a by-election when he switched parties.
Turnout was 51.2 per cent with 35,386 ballot papers counted, a decrease from the 64.2 per cent turnout out at the 2010 general election.
Tory Mr Watling received 8,709 votes to finish second while Labour's Tim Young finished third with 3,957 votes.
The Ukip leader hailed last night's result as a seismic shift in British politics and vowed to double the number of his party's MPs in Parliament by winning in Rochester. He has also declared he would like to be Minister for Europe in a coalition government after May's General Election
Mr Farage celebrated Ukip's stunning by-election victory by drinking beer in a Clacton pub until 4.45am this morning
Mr Carswell was mobbed by reporters in Clacton this morning following last night's historic by-election win
Ukip defector Mark Reckless, who also triggered the by-election in Rochester and Strood, attended the count in Clacton's Princes Theatre.
Former Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik also made an appearance in support of independent candidate Charlotte Rose, who was campaigning for sexual freedom and finished in last place with 56 votes.
Mr Carswell previously secured the Clacton seat in 2010 with a majority of 12,068 votes over Labour's Ivan Henderson, having first being elected to Parliament in 2005 in the Harwich seat.
His victory for Ukip means that 12 political parties will be represented in the House of Commons, thought to be the biggest number since 1945 and an indication that Britain's traditional two-party system is fragmenting.
It is the first time an MP who has defected and stood under a different banner in a by-election has won since 1973, when Labour MP Dick Taverne resigned his seat and stood for 'Democratic Labour'.
Tory defector Douglas Carswell has made history by becoming UKIP's first ever elected MP in the Commons
Mr Carswell took selfies with constituents in Clacton-on-Sea this morning, as he became the first elected Ukip MP
The victory has piled more pressure on the Conservatives to retain the seat of Rochester and Strood, where the second defector to Mr Farage's party, Mark Reckless, will stand next month.
In an interview with the magazine Newsweek Europe, to be published today, Mr Farage makes the audacious suggestion that he is aiming for a ministerial job if Ukip wins a number of MPs in next year's election and is invited to join a coalition.
'What I will say is this: if things go well next spring, I would like to be minister for Europe,' he said. 'I mean that quite seriously.'
'I would like to be the person who goes to Brussels and says, "We want to trade with you. We want reciprocal relationships. But this European Treaty doesn't work for us, and so we are breaking it".'
Mr Carswell said Ukip's rise was 'a profound change in British politics'.
He said the strong showing in Heywood and Middleton, a 'rock-solid Labour seat' meant 'we can take votes from the centre-left as well as from the centre-right'.
He told Sky News: 'The idea that we are somehow the Tory party in exile, that myth died this evening.
'We are a different party that stands for all Britain and all Britons, from disillusioned former Labour voters to people who have given up on politics altogether, every bit as much as for traditional Conservative voters.
'This is something new, this is something different. The real significance is that result in the north of England. We are part of something that is profoundly different in British politics.'
He said his data showed that '45 per cent of people who voted Labour in 2010 voted for me.'
Dismissing the Tory attack that a vote for Ukip helps Mr Miliband reach No 10, he said that in Heywood and Middleton 'it was the Conservative vote that kept Ed Miliband's candidate in'.
Mr Carswell, who said he still had many friends in the Tory ranks despite his defection, said: 'I've even had some nice friendly texts from people in the Cabinet - they are friends and they are going to stay my friends.'
Tory minister Priti Patel, who is an Essex MP, said the result was disappointing but said people 'don't necessarily vote along traditional party lines' at by-elections and Mr Carswell had benefited from being the incumbent.
She told Sky News: 'The reality is we as a party have to look at this election now and take some lessons and learnings from that, but at the same time as we head into the general election that election campaign will be about the big issues of the day: who governs our country, who do you want as your prime minister and not about voting for alternative political parties that may actually just tap into your fears, anxieties or concerns on particular issues but don't necessarily have the policy solutions to those issues.'
The Treasury minister said there would be 'no deals' with UKIP at the general election.
Tory defector Douglas Carswell comfortably won the by-election in Clacton, Essex, with a 12,404 majority
Mr Carswell, his wife Clementine and Mr Farage enjoyed the attention after the UKIP victory was announced at Clacton Town Hall
Ukip had also been hoping to pull off a shock victory in the Greater Manchester constituency of Heywood and Middleton last night after campaigning strongly in an effort to make inroads into Labour's northern heartland.
However, despite the strong challenge from Ukip candidate John Bickley, Labour candidate Ms McInnes scraped a victory with 11,633 votes compared to Mr Bickley's 11,016.
The poll, which saw a voter turnout of just 36 per cent, was triggered by the death of Labour MP Jim Dobbin, who had held the seat since 1997.
A bitter inquest had begun within minutes of the result as Labour MP John Mann said: 'If Ed Miliband does not broaden the Labour coalition to better include working class opinion then we cannot win a majority government.'
After the result, Mr Farage said UKIP was 'ripping lumps' out of Labour in its northern heartlands.
He told Sky News: 'We are ripping lumps out of the old Labour vote in the north of England.
'The truth of what has happened in the North today is that if you are anywhere north of Birmingham, if you vote Conservative you get Labour.
'And the reason we haven't won up there, despite a fantastic campaign, is that too many people have stuck with the Conservatives, not recognising that Ukip is now the challenger to Labour in every urban seat in the north of England.'
He added that the result in the northern seat, where his party had barely contemplated victory, was 'stunning'.
Labour had approached the by-election with increasing panic amid concerns that Mr Miliband is haemorrhaging working class support on issues such as immigration and welfare.
MPs had said if UKIP finished within 2,000 votes of Labour, serious 'alarm bells would start ringing' about Mr Miliband's leadership. They finished just 617 votes ahead.
Last night Labour sources insisted their share of the vote - 41 per cent - had increased compared with the general election in 2010 and it was the Tory and Lib Dem vote which had collapsed.
But Ukip's stunning result will increase the pressure on Mr Miliband following his disastrous party conference speech, in which he forgot to make any mention of the deficit or immigration and focused on Labour's 'comfort zone' issue of the NHS.
Labour's Liz McInnes celebrates her victory after the count at the Heywood and Middleton by-election. However, she got just 617 more votes than second-placed John Bickley of Ukip
Labour candidate Ms McInnes scraped a victory with 11,633 votes compared to UKIP John Bickley's 11,016
Labour celebrated the victory in Heywood and Middleton following the closely fought battle with UKIP
In her victory speech, Ms McInnes drew a large reaction from the crowd as she said the vote showed support for Mr Miliband.
She was forced to raise her voice above the crowd and momentarily halted her speech as people laughed and heckled.
'The people gave their backing to Ed Miliband's plans for an NHS with the time to care,' she said.
'They said to David Cameron, keep your mitts off our NHS. They have rejected a Tory government that is only standing up for the privileged few.'
She later added: 'I am proud to have been selected as the new MP for Heywood and Middleton.
'Our vote held up, we had not anticipated the Tory vote collapsing quite so dramatically. But our core voters turned out. We didn't take anyone's votes for granted and we have run a very strong positive campaign.'
Asked if she expected UKIP to run have Labour so close, she said: 'To be honest with you I have been through more or less every scenario. As I said before, we don't take anyone's vote for granted.
'We work very hard and I am just pleased our vote held up. We can't choose our opponents.
'I am proud and honoured to have been selected for this area. I am not disappointed that the majority has been reduced. I knew this was going to be a tough fight and we have run a really strong positive campaign and we have fought for every single vote.'
David Cameron, who celebrated his 48th birthday yesterday, is now under intense pressure to halt the UKIP tide in Rochester and Strood, Kent, where Mark Reckless, another Tory turncoat, has triggered a by-election expected to take place next month.
The Tory campaign machine will head there today, with Mr Cameron promising to 'throw everything we can' at keeping the seat. Tory HQ is planning to recruit Labour and Lib Dem voters in a 'keep Ukip out' campaign to prevent Mr Reckless clinching another victory for UKIP.
One poll has put Mr Reckless, who defected from the Conservatives to Ukip last month, on course for victory. A double defeat to Ukip would be a grave blow to the Prime Minister, with the general election now months away, and might encourage further defections.
In Clacton, the voter turn-out was calculated at 51.2 per cent, with results announced in the early hours of today
The dramatic by-election win in Clacton comes after two years of major gains by Ukip in local and European elections.
It marks the pinnacle for a party founded just 20 years ago and which has endured a turbulent history of infighting, defections and allegations of racism, sexism and homophobia.
In 2012, with the Tories haemorrhaging support to Ukip, Mr Cameron promised to hold an in-out referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union if he remains Prime Minister after 2017.
The move, with a promise of clawing powers back from Brussels, was thought to have placated many Eurosceptics on the Conservative backbenches.
But in August this year Mr Carswell announced his shock defection to UKIP at a press conference in central London.
Mr Farage was revelling in last night's victory, during walkabout in Clacton
He lambasted the Prime Minister and senior Conservatives for not being 'serious about real change.'
Among a list of criticisms, he insisted that the failure to take a stand against the European Union was at the heart of his decision.
'They are not serious about real change. It's above all the failure to deliver on the promise of political reform that has driven me to be here today,' he said.
'Europe's the one continent on the globe that is not growing... Yet who in Westminster, who among our so-called leaders is prepared to envisage real change?'
Mr Carswell said he had been an enthusiastic cheerleader for Mr Cameron's Bloomberg speech, in which he set out proposals for an in-out referendum by 2017 if the Tories are in power after next year's general election.
But he said he did not believe the policy was 'sincere', saying the leadership wanted to secure 'just enough' to pretend change was happening.
Hours later Mr Cameron vowed to launch a 'very strong' campaign against Mr Carswell, condemning the defection as 'counter-productive'.
But it became clear that Mr Carswell's popularity in Clacton meant the Tories were fighting a losing battle from the start.
One senior Conservative said: 'There is not a Tory machine campaign machine in Clacton, it is a Carswell machine.'
The Prime Minister made a last ditch visit to Clacton last week, and acknowledged the Tories were 'the underdogs'.
The Conservative candidate fighting Mr Carswell was Giles Watling, an actor best known for his appearance as the vicar in the 1980s sitcom 'Bread', who is from the area and has been a local councillor for several years.
But in a sign of the Tory attitude to the seat, London Mayor Boris Johnson was caught out on live radio this week when he could not remember Mr Watling's name.
Quizzed on the radio about the Conservatives' chances in this week's by-election, Mr Johnson could only venture that the candidate was a 'superb man... Stirling? Girling? Something like that.'
Mr Carswell secured the Clacton seat with a majority of 12,404 ahead of Conservative candidate Giles Watling
Despite being expected to storm to victory, Mr Carswell appeared nervous as he waited for the result
Mr Carswell's switch to Ukip in August was then followed by the defection of Mark Reckless last month, on the eve of the Tory party conference.
Senior Tory strategists accepted they stood little chance of holding Clacton.
But Mr Cameron has made clear he will not give up on Mr Reckless' Rochester and Strood constituency, accusing him on betraying Tory activists who worked hard to get his 'fat ****' on the Commons benches.
Mr Reckless has a small lead in the polls, but the Conservatives believe they can hold it, and will head there on Friday afternoon after the Clacton result to campaign.
Ukip's only MP to date came when Castle Point MP Bob Spink defected from the Conservatives in 2008.
But he did not trigger a by-election, choosing instead to just sit in a different part of the Commons.
He subsequently stood unsuccessfully as an independent at the 2010 general election.
Mr Carswell was originally elected as the Conservative MP for Harwich in 2005, but was returned in Clacton in 2010 after boundary changes with a majority of over 12,000.
DOUGLAS CARSWELL: THE RADICAL EUROSCEPTIC RAISED IN AFRICA
Douglas Carswell was one of the most prominent Eurosceptic Tory MPs but his defection to Ukip in August was still a major surprise in Westminster.
The libertarian Clacton MP regularly spoke out against the Government on Europe, the economy and Parliamentary reform.
The maverick backbencher once led calls for MPs' expenses to be opened up to the public– but was then criticised after it emerged he claimed cash back for a 'love chair' for his home.
He is popular among many of his former Tory his colleagues, some of whom refused to campaign against him.
In Clacton his popularity outstrips that of the Tories. One senior Conservative said: 'There is not a Tory machine campaign machine in Clacton, it is a Carswell machine.'
Mr Carswell grew up in Uganda where his doctor parents worked.
He was educated at St Andrews School, Kenya, before moving to the exclusive Charterhouse boarding school in Surrey.
Read more: Douglas Carswell wins Clacton by-election as UKIP's first MP | Daily Mail Online
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