Tories out of by-election race

Following a disastrous set of European election results, the Conservatives have already been written off in the Leicester South by-;election by the press.

The Conservatives had their worst result since 1832 - but Labour weren't much better, suffering their worst share of the vote since the First World War.

The real gainers among the major parties were the Liberal Democrats - making major gains in both the European and the local elections across the country.

Following massive local council election gains in Leicester last year, the Leicester South by-election is a clear two horse race between Labour and the Liberal Democrats, everybody knows that nobody else can win.

Single issue party UKIP are unable to repeat their performance in the European elections and to make gains in traditional first past the post Westminster elections - and minor parties such as the Greens and Respect, who scored less than 2% in the European elections, stand no chance in Leicester.

Local Liberal Democrat candidate Parmjit Singh Gill said: "The election will be a clear choice between supporting Tony Blair and his policies or choosing a local MP who will work hard for our area."