Labor wins 3 by-elections in Britain

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LONDON, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- The Labor Party held on to three seats in the British Parliament in by-elections Thursday while a Euro-skeptic party came in second.

In Rotherham in southern Yorkshire, where Denis MacShane resigned because of questionable expenses, Sarah Champion, the head of a children's hospice, won with about twice as many votes as the runner-up, The Guardian reported. The United Kingdom Independence Party had hoped for a victory because of publicity about a member couple whose foster children were taken away from them but had to be content with second place.

The left-wing coalition, Respect, came in third, the Conservatives fourth and the Liberal Democrats ended up in eighth place. Only about one-third of eligible voters made it to the polls.

Labor, which lost a seat in nearby Bradford to one of its former MPs, George Galloway of Respect, brought in supporters from around the country to canvas in Rotherham.

The Labor candidates also won in Middlesborough, where UKIP came in second and the Conservatives third, and in Croydon with the Conservatives in second place and UKIP in third.