Brown hails 'vote of confidence'

Lindsay Roy celebrates winning the Glenrothes seat for Labour

The prime minister has hailed Labour's Glenrothes by-election victory as a vote of confidence in the government's handling of the economic crisis.

Gordon Brown said the result proved people were prepared to support governments who offer them "real help."

SNP leader Alex Salmond described Labour's campaign as "scaremongering".

The SNP failed to overturn Labour's majority but managed to increase its vote by more than 4,500. The Tories and the Lib Dems lost their deposits.

Labour's majority of 10,664 at the 2005 election was reduced to 6,737, although the number of votes it polled actually increased.

The BBC has learnt that Mr Brown was told as late as 10pm, when the polls closed, that Labour would lose.

Government sources said the party only realised that it would win once officials started sampling the actual ballot papers as they were being counted, at about 10.30pm.

A central feature of Labour candidate Lindsay Roy's campaign had been concerns over an increase in home care charges for some people from