 | 'Mark Oaten returned to vote for the first time since his Lib dem leadership bid was derailed by a rent boy scandal.' Michael White, political editor in the Observer, 31 st January 2006. |  |
| 'Mark Oaten returned to vote for the first time since his Lib dem leadership bid was derailed by a rent boy scandal.' Michael White, political editor in the Observer, 31 st January 2006. | |
The Liberal Democrats have delivered a hammer blow to Labour by winning the Dunfermline and West Fife by-election.
Willie Rennie overturned a huge Labour majority in a neighbouring constituency to Chancellor Gordon Brown's.
Returning officer Douglas Sinclair declared that Mr Rennie had secured 12,391 of the votes.
Labour's Catherine Stihler received 10,591 votes. The SNP's Douglas Chapman was third with 7,261 votes and Tory Carrie Ruxton secured 2,702 votes.
The seat was made vacant following the death of Labour's Rachel Squire in January.
At last May's General Election, Ms Squire won the seat for Labour with a majority of more than 11,500.
That was radically overturned by Mr Rennie who secured an 1,800 majority on a 16.24% swing. The turnout was 48.74% of the electorate - down by more than 10% on the general election.
The former chief executive of the Scottish Liberal Democrats was elated following the declaration of his victory at the Queen Anne High School in Dunfermline early on Friday morning.
Thanking the voters who backed him, he said: "Tonight they have sent a powerful message to the Labour government that will rock the foundations of Downing Street, Number 10 and Number 11.
"Labour has taken the people up and down the country for granted for far too long, too much spin and not enough delivery - it is time that Tony Blair and Gordon Brown both got that message.
"This is a sensational victory," said the account director for a firm advising charities and businesses.
He claimed the result showed that Lib Dem policies of a fairer, greener, more democratic society meant that the party could win right across the country.
Mr Rennie said Labour had lost the confidence of people who had supported them for generations, that the Conservatives could be seen to be irrelevant in much of Britain and that it must be a "deeply depressing" night for the SNP.
"This is truly an historic victory," he added.
Mr Rennie also paid tribute to Ms Squire who he said had clearly been a popular and hard working MP.
The by-election had been hard-fought and had seen interventions by political big beasts including Mr Brown, who holds the neighbouring seat of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath.
He had campaigned on local issues, including controversy over tolls on the Forth Road Bridge.
The victory was likely to be all the sweeter for the Liberal Democrats, currently in the middle of a leadership battle after the resignation of Charles Kennedy.
Mr Kennedy, who quit after admitting to a drink problem, had joined Mr Rennie on the campaign trail.
Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond was in upbeat mood, despite third place.
He said: "This has been a strong SNP performance, with the swing varying dramatically across the various areas of the seat. I would like to congratulate Douglas and his campaign team on a fine performance."
The Scottish Tories were in fourth place, despite campaigning support from new leader David Cameron.
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