As Labour celebrates its success in the Glasgow North East by-election, Scotland's other political parties are beginning the post-mortem into a night which saw the BNP scoop fourth place following the country's lowest ever recorded turnout at aby-election.

Labour candidate Willie Bain secured the Westminster seat, with party activists hailing the result a triumph for Labour and Gordon Brown.

He claimed 12,231 votes, while the SNP's second place candidate, David Kerr, managed 4,120.

While Labour had been expected to hold the stronghold seat, the majority of 8,111 was far higher than expected.

Speaking on Friday morning, flanked by Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray and Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy, Mr Bain described his victory as "a disastrous result" for Alex Salmond.

He said: "I think people were very clear the SNP have not treated Glasgow well on a range of issues from the rail link to crime, to health, to jobs and it was a disastrous result for him personally.

"He visited this constituency on several occasions and he was soundly rebuffed yesterday"”

However, opposition parties were denying the result indicated a Labour resurgence, with just 33.02% of eligible voters turning out to the polling stations.

SNP leader Alex Salmond said Mr Kerr had achieved progress despite a "relentlessly negative Labour campaign". He added that the result was the SNP's best share of the vote in a Westminster poll in the constituency for 35 years.

David Kerr said: "Our message through the campaign was simple. For all the problems this constituency and this country face, our potential is far greater still. But it is a potential that will only be achieved through freedom."

The Conservatives narrowly took third place, winning 1,075 votes to the British National Party's 1013. The BNP's candidate, Charlie Baillie had claimed to be optimistic about his chances, predicting he would keep his deposit and could even claim third place.

However, as he took to the stage to speak following the count, he was jeered by the crowd, some of whom called him a Nazi. Others simply walked out.

First Minister Alex Salmond said the media had to take some responsibility for raising the BNP's profile in Scotland. He said: "I bitterly regret the irresponsibility of the BBC and others for generating the ridiculous and wholly unwarranted volume of publicity the BNP received in Scotland.

"Yet they didn’t come third, they didn’t save their deposit, and they were resoundingly rejected by the people of Glasgow North East."

Mr Bain will now replace Michael Martin as the area’s MP. The former speaker of the House of Commons stood down as an MP earlier this year following the Westminster expenses scandal.

He has since become a peer in the House of Lords and is now known as Lord Martin of Springburn.

Glasgow North East by-election - How they voted