UKIP leapfrogged Labour into second place in the Sleaford & North Hykeham by-election last night taking 13.5% of the vote and reinforcing the Party as the Opposition in waiting as the Conservatives held the seat abandoned by its former MP.
A humiliated Labour Party were beaten into fourth place behind the Lib Dems.
UKIP leader Paul Nuttall, who accompanied candidate Victoria Ayling at the count, said it was a "great result" for the party following the turmoil of recent months.
He said: "If someone would have offered me second place at the beginning of the campaign, considering we were in the middle of a leadership election and the party resembled a bit of a shambles over the summer, I would have bitten their hand off.
"I think it's a really good way to get my leadership off the ground. This is a small step on a long road."
Here are the final results from the by-election:
| Candidate | Party | Vote | Vote% |
| Dr Caroline Johnson | Conservatives | 17,570 | 53.51% |
| Victoria Ayling | Ukip | 4,426 | 13.48% |
| Ross Pepper | Lib Dems | 3,606 | 10.98% |
| Jim Clarke | Labour | 3,363 | 10.24% |
| Marianne Overton | Lincs Independents | 2,892 | 8.81% |
| Sarah Stock | Independent | 462 | 1.41% |
| The Iconic Arty-Pole | Loony | 200 | 0.61% |
| Paul Coyne | ND | 186 | 0.57% |
| Mark Suffield | ND | 74 | 0.23% |
| David Bishop | BP Elvis | 55 | 0.17% |
| Conservative Majority 13,144 (40.03%) | |||
| 0.24% swing C to UKIP | |||
| Electorate 88,712. Turnout 32,834 (37.01%) | |||