Anti-Europe party Ukip wins its second seat in British parliament at Rochester and Strood
By-election victory by Conservative defector to Ukip a major blow to Prime Minister David Cameron ahead of national vote in six months
Britain's anti-European Union UK Independence Party (Ukip) has won its second seat in Parliament in a by-election that could signal upheaval at the general election in six months' time.
Mark Reckless was re-elected to Parliament with 42 per cent of the vote, after defecting in September from Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party to Ukip, which wants strict quotas on immigration.
Furious campaigning by the Conservatives to hold on to Rochester and Strood failed to beat back the Ukip advance and their candidate lagged behind on 35 per cent, a blow to Cameron, who had vowed to "throw everything" at Thursday's by-election battle and visited the constituency five times to campaign.
Reacting to the defeat, Cameron said he was "absolutely determined to win" the seat back in next year's national vote, but Ukip leader Nigel Farage insisted he was "absolutely confident" the seat would remain within his camp.
Farage hailed the "huge, huge victory".
"They [the Conservatives] threw the kitchen sink at it, but despite their boasts, we have beaten the ruling party of the day in this life and death struggle," he told Sky News.