Britain's Conservatives today won the parliamentary seat of Norwich North from Labour, with their candidate securing a majority of over 7,300 votes.
Labour, which came second in the vote, had held the seat since Tony Blair swept to power in a landslide victory in 1997, ending 18 years of Conservative rule.
However, the Tories were hopeful of snatching the Norwich North seat in an election forced by the resignation of Labour MP Ian Gibson in the wake of an internal party sleaze inquiry.
Mr Gibson, a popular local MP, quit last month after Labour’s “star chamber” barred him from standing for the party again following revelations that he claimed almost £80,000 in second home expenses on a London flat which he later sold at a knock-down price to his daughter.
Labour’s candidate, Chris Ostrowski, was forced to abandon the campaign trail in the run-up to polling day after collapsing with a bout of swine flu and being taken to hospital.
Conservative leader David Cameron made a series of high-profile visits to the city in a sign of the party’s determination to secure victory.