Foster row: Labour faces challenge from Ukip in Rotherham by-election The party even managed to push the Liberal Democrats into third place when Labour took Corby in a by-election last month. Labour's Rotherham candidate, Sarah Champion, is also being challenged by George Galloway's Respect Party, which overturned a 5,000 majority to win a seat in nearby Bradford in April. Mr Galloway has focused his attention on the expenses abuses of Mr MacShane in a campaign trail dominated by candidates shouting their messages through megaphones. Bookmakers predict Labour will hold all three seats, with Middlesbrough the most likely to be a win for Ed Miliband's party. The parties will be keeping a close eye on the turn-out after only one in seven people turned out to vote in this month's police commissioner elections. The Electoral Commission partly blamed the lack of voters on the time of the year, rather than the traditional May electoral timetable. The turnout in the Corby by-election, on the same day as the commissioner elections, was around 45 per cent.