In a shock victory, Labour held onto their seat in the Glenrothes by-election with 55.1 per cent of the total votes last week.

With the odds stacked firmly on the SNP’s side, nobody could have expected the 6,737 majority in what was expected to be such a close contest between the two parties.

This victory for Labour candidate Lindsay Roy is as much a personal success for Gordon Brown as for the party.

The successful Mr Roy spoke of Mr Brown in his victory speech saying: “I pledge my support to the leader of this country, someone who has worked very hard on behalf of all of us, not just in Fife, but in Scotland and the UK during these volatile economic times."

The Prime Minister, in unprecedented involvement in a by-election, visited the constituency twice to show his support for the Labour candidate.

By involving himself so heavily in the campaign, Mr Brown put his own political credibility on the line, risking a defeat being interpreted as a loss of confidence in his ability to lead the country. As it transpires, the victory has delivered a vote of confidence in Mr Brown and the Government’s handling of the current economic crisis.

Speaking on the morning after the election, Mr Brown told reporters: “What I have learned from this by-election is that people are prepared to support governments that will help people through the downturn and offer real help to people.”

"They are less willing to support people who have no idea about how to solve the problems we have got."

Jim Murphy, the Scottish secretary referred to the result as “dreadful” for SNP. The Nationalists candidate, Peter Grant, won 13,209 votes, 36.5 per cent of those cast.

First Minister Alex Salmond, who was publicly certain of a victory for the Nationalists following the results of the Glasgow East election earlier this year, has been criticised for being too confident.

Sir Menzies Campbell, former Lib Dem leader whose seat neighbours Glenrothes said: “Smart Alec has had his comeuppance. Once again, an extravagant prediction from Mr Salmond has proved worthless. This is a personal victory for the Prime Minister.”

The by-election was fought mainly on local issues, with the SNP led coalition council in Fife coming under fire by Labour for imposing charges on care packages for the elderly, something many voters felt strongly about.

The following morning, deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon accused Labour of fighting a “relentlessly negative” campaign in Glenrothes. She termed Labour's focusing on a single local issue—namely the SNP's home-care charges—as “misleading.”