Brent East result hailed as 'notice to quit' for Sally Keeble say Lib Dems

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 19th Sep 2003

The dramatic by-election victory for the Liberal Democrats in Brent East has been greeted by Northampton Lib Dems as a sign of the party's growing strength both nationally and locally.

Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesperson for Northampton North Andrew Simpson said "The result in Brent East is dramatic but is part of the continuing story of the rise of the Lib Dems - winning six council seats from Labour in Northampton in May and achieving 46% of the vote in the new Northampton North constituency. This result is a 'notice to quit' for Labour's Sally Keeble in Northampton North.

The party came from a poor third place at the last election with just 10% of the vote to win one of Labour's safest seats in the Country. The Conservatives slipped from second place to a poor third.

"Like the local election results this May this shows it is the Lib Dems who are now the main challengers in urban areas like Northampton North constituency" continued Andrew. "This is a disastrous result for Labour but a catastrophe for the Tories who loose all credibility concerning their talk of a recovery"

"The Brent East shows that the Lib Dems can win Northampton North"

"Brent shows us the level of dissatisfaction there is with the current government - from distrust over Tony Blair's position on Iraq to dismay over increasing privatisation of our public services - the message is clear for Labour".

In both Northampton Parliamentary seats the Lib Dems start from a stronger position going into the next General Election than in Brent East.