London - Labour held the Westminster constituencies of West Bromwich West, Preston and Glasgow Anniesland on a day of poor turnouts at by-election polling booths. Labour also held the Glasgow Anniesland Scottish Parliament seat.
In West Bromwich West, Labour's Adrian Bailey won with a majority of around 3,000.
In Preston, Labour's Mark Hendrick grabbed a 4,500 majority. North of the border, John Robertson won with a 6,300 margin for Labour.
Conservatives hailed a large swing from Labour in Preston - one of the government's "heartland" seats - and said the result in West Bromwich represented a "significant" boost in their position. But Labour sources said the low turnouts showed there was no appetite in the country to give Mr Blair's government a bloody nose.