PA Ukip leader Nigel Farage blasted Jim McMahon's win in Oldham West

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The Ukip leader tweeted furiously about the vote which he claimed was "rigged" by "non-English speaking" communities and the postal vote. Mr Farage criticised the ballot process after Labour's win, saying: "Evidence from an impeccable sources that today's postal vote was bent." He also claimed some members of the Asian population had voted for Labour even though they "did not know who Jeremy Corbyn is".

The leader also claimed to see boxes where 99 per cent of the votes were for Labour's Jim McMahon – who branded Ukip supporters "rejects" last year. He said: "It means effectively – in some of these seats where people don't speak English, but they're signed up to postal votes – effectively the electoral process is now dead." Oldham West was already under investigation after the Electoral Commission named it as one of the constituencies alleged to have a "greater risk" of voter fraud. There were 7,115 postal votes this time around, 25.6 per cent of the overall vote – but the average for a general election is 16 per cent. And in May, 19 per cent of voters in Oldham West opted for the postal vote.

ALAMY Ukip's John Bickley picked up 23.3 per cent of the vote

CAVENDISH Mr Bickley hoped to capitalise on Labour's recent woes

After the result was announced Mr Farage tweeted: “As a veteran of over 30 by-elections I have never seen such a perverse result. Serious questions need to be asked." But just minutes later a senior Ukip insider revealed to Express.co.uk one of Mr Farage's tweets had "overstepped the mark". The source said: "I understand that there was one tweet that may have overstepped the mark, I think some wrong information was given. "But there's no doubt – I've never seen in 25 years of being involved in politics where you get over 15 per cent of the total votes run in on the last day. That is very weird. "The questions about postal voting have been going on for a long time."

LNP Jim McMahon won 62.2 per cent of the vote

LNP The former council leader replaces the late Michael Meacher

And a defiant Labour source told Express.co.uk: "We totally reject that claim. Mr Farage doesn't seem to have any evidence to support his claim. "We won the election in every community in the constituency with both postal voters and non-postal voters. "If Ukip makes claims, they should demonstrate evidence to back it up." Mr McMahon, the former leader of Oldham Council, also dismissed Mr Farage's accusations of irregularity.

LNP Labour supporters celebrate the candidate's victory

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said was "delighted" at his party's win – and claimed Ukip "benefited from a protest vote". He said: "By-elections can be difficult for the party holding the seat, and turnouts often low. "But to increase our share of the vote since the General Election is a vote of confidence in our party. "It's a clear demonstration that Labour is the party working people trust. "Our determination to oppose Tory austerity policies, and our successes in pushing them back on tax credit and police cuts show that Labour is getting results for working people."

LNP Conservative candidate James Daly finished behind Mr Bickley

Mr Bickley, who said: "I was quite stunned at how the postal votes had an impact on the result. "It was such an impact that actually none of us should have bothered to turn up." He added: "The postal voting system is no longer fit for purpose in a democracy. Last October Mr Bickley nearly overturned an 11,000 Labour majority at the Heywood and Middleton by-election, losing by just 600 votes.

GETTY Jeremy Corbyn, pictured last week, hailed Labour's win

Conservative candidate James Daly finished behind Mr Bickley with 2,596 votes, 9.33 per cent of the vote. And the Liberal Democrats lost their deposit after Jane Brophy secured 1,024 votes, a 3.68 per cent share. The Greens were fourth with 0.9 per cent of the vote, ahead of Monster Raving Loony candidate Sir Oink-A-Lot. Result: Result: Jim McMahon (Lab) 17,322 (62.27%, +7.49%) John Bickley (UKIP) 6,487 (23.32%, +2.71%) James Daly (C) 2,596 (9.33%, -9.65%) Jane Brophy (LD) 1,024 (3.68%, -0.00%) Simeon Hart (Green) 249 (0.90%, -1.05%) Sir Oink-A-Lot (Loony) 141 (0.51%) Lab maj 10,835 (38.95%) 2.39% swing UKIP to Lab Electorate 69,009; Turnout 27,819 (40.31%, -19.32%)