Ukip has its first elected MP after Douglas Carswell won the Clacton by-election today.
Mr Carswell received 21,113 votes to secure the seat with a majority of 12,404, as he finished comfortably ahead of Conservative candidate Giles Watling.
The by-election in Clacton took place after Mr Carswell defected to Ukip from the Conservatives and resigned from his seat in August.
Turnout was 51.2% with 35,386 ballot papers counted, a decrease from the 64.2% 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.
Ukip defector Mark Reckless, who has also triggered a 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.
