Win for Labour in key by-election

Labour has kept control of Barnsley Council after retaining a key ward in a by-election.

Roy Butterwood received 1,520 votes to take the St Helens ward seat and maintain the party's majority of one.

BNP candidate Lisa Brooksbank came second, receiving 590 votes in the election, which recorded a 31% turnout.

Barnsley Council leader Steve Houghton said the result was "tremendous" but that Labour had a lot of hard work to do before next year's general election.

ST HELENS BY-ELECTION RESULT Roy Butterwood, Labour: 1520 Lisa Brooksbank, BNP: 590 Daniel Clive Pickering, Barnsley Independent Group: 171 Neil Robinson, UKIP: 94 Clive Watkinson, Conservative: 89 Eddie Gouthwaite, Liberal Democrat: 78 Turnout = 31%

When asked if he thought the BNP might have won, Mr Butterwood said: "They thought there was a good chance of increasing their result and reducing the majority.

"I'm sure they're very disappointed with the result."

The vote followed the death of David Bostwick earlier this year.

Labour, which held nearly all the seats in Barnsley in 1997, would have lost overall control of the council for the first time since the 1930s if it had not retained the seat.