The Glenrothes district in Fife had been a safe area for Labor. But the party's unpopularity and the rise of the Scottish National Party -- which won a recent by-election in a Labor stronghold in Glasgow -- had many predicting another defeat.

In the end, Lindsay Roy, the Labor candidate, defeated Peter Grant of the SNP by 6.737 votes, the Financial Times reported. The Conservatives trailed, followed by the Liberal Democrats.

Before the vote, Scottish First Minister and SNP leader Alex Salmond had predicted victory for his party. Bookmakers were offering 4-1 odds against a Labor win.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has enjoyed a recent comeback after losing popularity because of the economic crisis. The Times suggested that the SNP may also have suffered because Scottish banks had to be bailed out by the British government.

In addition to the Glasgow defeat, Labor lost a safe seat in the English Midlands and came in fifth, trailing the Greens and the right-wing British National Party, in a Conservative district in the Thames Valley.