Labour analyses by-election result

Labour chiefs are analysing what went wrong in a by-election which saw a safe Labour seat tumble to the Liberal Democrats in Gordon Brown's own back yard.

As the inquest got under way the party put on a brave public face, insisting the loss of Dunfermline and West Fife was down to purely local issues. But jubilant Liberal Democrats said Tony Blair's party was paying the price for taking voters for granted.

The Prime Minister made no mention of the defeat when he opened a school in Liverpool, but deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said: "Of course we are disappointed about the by-election result. We always want to win. We should have won up there. But we did out best, we put our case and we'll get on now with delivering the programme that we promised at the last election."

Scottish Secretary Alistair Darling blamed Labour's defeat on local issues, and denied the result reflected badly on Chancellor Gordon Brown, who lives in the constituency and was prominent in the campaign.

Liberal Democrat by-election winner Willie Rennie staged a victory parade down the main street of the town he sensationally captured from Labour after overturning a majority of more than 11,500.

He was surrounded by jubilant placard-waving supporters as he walked down the high street of Dunfermline and two of the three Liberal Democrat leadership contenders, Simon Hughes and Sir Menzies Campbell, were also there to bask in their party's hour of triumph.

Mr Rennie declared: "We have engaged on the issues that matter to people in this constituency. People are fed up with Labour. They have taken our country for granted for too long - there is too much spin and not enough delivery."

Mr Hughes said: "It is a success against Labour in Gordon Brown's backyard. It is a hugely important result against the SNP - we have left them behind, they are not moving forwards."

Sir Menzies Campbell said the result raised questions about Mr Brown's succession to Number 10. "People will say: 'Well, if Gordon Brown is going to be the Prime Minister and he can't hold a traditional Labour seat on his own back doorstep then just how is he going to go down in the leafy glades of Essex or Surrey or places like that?' This must raise some questions about the succession," said Sir Menzies.

The defeat marks Labour's first by-election defeat in Scotland since 1988, and the Lib Dems' first by-election victory north of the border since 1991.

At last year's General Election Rachel Squire, whose death in January led to the by-election, won the seat for Labour with a majority of 11,562 over the Liberal Democrats. Pundits had predicted that Labour candidate Catherine Stihler would hold the seat but with a dramatically reduced majority.

Scotsman