The British National party surged into second place in a council byelection on the day its leader was cleared of two race hate charges

Press Association:

The BNP took more than 30% at Heanor and Loscoe in Derbyshire's Amber Valley borough. It finished 159 votes short of Labour.

The BNP leader, Nick Griffin, was cleared on two charges at Leeds crown court yesterday. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on further charges and the Crown Prosecution Service said there would be a retrial.

In a week of government defeats in the Commons, the Labour party saw its share fall by between 4.1% and 23.2% in four comparable contests.

It was pushed from first to third place at North Carrick and Maybole East, as independent Brian Connolly - by just one vote - thwarted a Tory bid to take overall control at South Ayrshire council, Scotland, where they may have to rely on the provost's casting vote.

Labour also slipped from a strong second last May - on the same day as the general election - to fourth behind the Green party at Suffolk county council's Stowmarket South division.

The Tories recaptured the seat, which had been represented by one of their members who later became independent, but Liberal Democrats missed by just 65 votes despite their national leadership problems.

Analysis of the four comparable results - fought both times by Labour and Tories - suggests a projected 18.5% nationwide Conservative lead.

The Tories appear to have benefited from a collapse in the independent vote at Boston but elsewhere their overall vote share advance was modest, with Labour's slump mainly boosting Lib Dems and others.

The South Ayrshire result - where more than half the electorate turned out - has little significance for next week's Commons byelection at Dunfermline and Fife West, which is the other side of Scotland.

BNP leader to face a second trial on race hate charges