Tories take Crewe by storm

By Katherine Baldwin

CREWE (Reuters) - The Conservatives took Crewe by a landslide on Friday, registering their first by-election gain over Labour for 30 years and hoisting a big question mark over the future of Gordon Brown.

Several analysts believe that with few new policy options open to him and the economy unlikely to improve quickly, Brown could face a leadership challenge by the Autumn.

Conservative candidate Edward Timpson won by 7,860 votes, overturning Labour's 7,000 majority with a 17.6 percent swing -- easily enough to secure a Tory victory if it were replicated in a general election.

"It was the end of New Labour here on the streets of Crewe," said the triumphant Conservative leader David Cameron.

Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman acknowledged the scale of the defeat but blamed the faltering economy.

The by-election in Crewe and Nantwich in Cheshire was triggered by the death of the Labour stalwart Gwyneth Dunwoody and follows Labour's trouncing in local election across the country earlier this month.

"This is not a sign that the next election is lost, but it is a sign the Conservatives are able now to win the next election in a way that they weren't before," said Philip Cowley, politics professor at Nottingham University.

Brown's popularity ratings have collapsed since October after he backed away from calling an early election.