UKIP chief Nigel Farage’s “clowns” ...the anti-EU party on course to take up to a THIRD of all votes in some battlegrounds... in the South Shields Parliamentary by-election. Labour held the seat -- but UKIP came second with 5,988 votes.And lost.
UKIP made a major break through tonight. They have made consistent gains from 14% to now what is 26% in council elections which makes them very much a contender. They actually have proven they can not just win votes but take a significant number of seats.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22382098
BTW This particular seat is in a Labour stronghold. UKIP performed better against Labour than the Tories which was the point of South Shields mention. Also the Lib Dems were totally nuked. The point being that UKIP is a growing threat not just to Tories.