THE British Prime Minister, Mr John Major's Commons majority was reduced to just one early this morning after Labour won a "substantial" victory in the Staffordshire South East by election, leaving the Tories on the brink of being forced to call an early general election.
With a swing of 22 per cent the Labour candidate, Mr Brian Jenkins, won 26,155, a majority of nearly 14,000, "easily" overturning the late Sir David Lightbrown's 7,192 majority. The Conservative candidate, Mr Jimmy James, received 12,393 votes and the turnout was described as "high" at just under 60 per cent.
Mr Jenkins a media lecturer, described the victory as "the clearest sign yet that Labour is the party of the mainstream majority " particularly because the seat was not regarded as traditional Labour territory, and challenged Mr Major to call an early election. "Mr Major should get in his government car, drive to Buckingham Palace, and tell the Queen we've tried, we've failed, we're off. That would bring the feel good factor back to Britain," he declared.
After conceding defeat the Conservative candidate, Mr Jimmy James, a former army major, predicted that his party would regain the seat at the general election. He blamed the result on "stay at home voters". The feel good factor bad not yet had its effect on voters.
Tory party strategists attempted to play down the defeat insisting that Labour's majority was not as high as previous by elections and suggested that it proved the anti government feeling in the country was now receding.
The deputy Labour leader Mr John Prescott, said the victory proved the party's policies had impressed the electorate.
However Tory party strategists privately admitted their disappointment that this month's tax cuts and the promised, if elusive, feel good factor bad failed to impress the voters. The Chancellor Mr Kenneth Clarke's comments that Mr James would be the "first beneficiary of the growing feel good factor," will no doubt haunt him for months to come.
One Conservative minister described the result as "bad" and predicted that the result meant that the government would now certainly "take a hammering" in the local council elections next month.
The Liberal Democrat candidate, Ms Jennette Davy, came a poor third with 2,042 votes and foster deposit after conducting a lacklustre campaign.
Political pundits predict that Mr Major's now waifer thin majority will not hold until his preferred date for the next election, May 1st, 1997, still just over 12 months away.
Two Tory backbenchers have already publicly declared that they are Mr Major's "single vote", whilst the party's "Eurosceptics" privately claim that they now hold the balance of power.
Nationalists have also expressed fears that Mr Major may now be forced to make concessions to the Ulster Unionists over the proposals for the elected forum or all party talks to bolster his majority.
Even if there are no further Tory defections, the history of, this parliament has shown that one Tory MP has died every three months. The age and profile of many Tory backbenchers means that up to four more may die this year. With his "dismal" Tory by election record, Mr Major could find himself with a minority of three by the end of the summer recess.
. Police arrested a six foot tall rabbit standing as a candidate in the by election. "News Bunny", the white rabbit standing as one of 13 candidates in the contest, won 85 votes.