Labour suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the the Conservative party in Copeland, a heartland seat dominated by the party since 1924, just half an hour after the party saw off Ukip leader Paul Nuttall in a bitter battle for Stoke Central. Stoke in the West Midlands recorded the strongest vote to leave the European Union of any of Britain’s 30 major cities in last June’s referendum, at 69.4 percent — even though its Labour MP, Tristram Hunt, opposed Brexit. 12.00 Labour’s candidate in Stoke Snell tweets his thanks to the volunteers in the seat:

11.45 On Monday I ventured to Stoke, visiting the Midlands seat to knock on doors, deliver a few leaflets and interview Labour’s candidate Gareth Snell. Analysis: UKIP's missed chance

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption UKIP's new leader Paul Nuttall had hoped to overturn Labour's hold on Stoke

By BBC political correspondent Chris Mason in Stoke

The questions facing Labour in Copeland are tumbling UKIP's way here in Stoke. Mr Oakden described the 2% improvement on the 2015 campaign as a "step forward", and said Mr Nuttall had been "incredibly courageous" to put himself forward as a candidate despite being leader for just 12 weeks.
Labour's Gareth Snell holds off UKIP's leader Paul Nuttall to win the Stoke-on-Trent Central by-election, while Conservative Party candidate Trudy Harrison wins the Copeland by-election, the first gain for a governing party since 1982.