Alex Christopher tweets, external: The #RochesterandStrood by-election result should be of no surprise, yet somehow Tories and Labour have ended up soul-searching for answers.

Dan Ware, 37, is the man whose van and house in Rochester was tweeted in a picture by Labour's Emily Thornberry.

He told the Sun:, external "To me it just proves Labour is full of the upper classes. I would never vote Labour now.

"I think they need to get out of their mansions and visit the working class. Her and Ed should come and say sorry to me."

Mark Reckless concludes his first speech in the Commons as an elected UKIP MP by telling MPs he is "very sceptical" of the US-EU trade deal TTIP, which has the prime minister's backing. You can read more about TTIP here.

BBC News political editor Nick Robinson tweets, external: Why @Ed_Miliband condemned white van/England flag tweet : "conveyed a sense of disrespect. Not my view, not Labour's view, never will be"

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor, BBC News

I don't smell fear in the Tory party. Last night it was very noticeable the Tory MPs and staff were sitting around, chatting with us. They were pretty relaxed, they weren't quaking in their boots.

I also look at the reaction in Westminster. There has not been a sort of clamour for Cameron to get his act together and I think within Tory ranks they think they can win this seat back at the next general election. More than that, I think they are beginning to wonder as to whether the UKIP bandwagon might just be slowing down.

Albeit, listening to Mr Farage this morning, he was adamant that the next general election is entirely up for grabs.

Mr Reckless is taking part in the National Health Service Bill debate, which can be followed live here.

Mark Reckless is making his Commons debut as a UKIP MP, hours after being sworn in.

Thomas Devlin in UK tweets, external: One reality from #RochesterandStrood is that Tory pledges on Europe were simply not believed. Credibility deficit not reducing!

Mark Pritchard, Conservative MP for the Wrekin, Shropshire, tells the BBC he won't be defecting to UKIP, saying: "My beating heart is Conservative."

He admits he is an "arch Eurosceptic" but adds: "UKIP are all things to all people. They're sort of the modern equivalent of the Liberal Democrats."

Mr Pritchard also praised the Green party for increasing their share of the vote.

Andy Clift tweets, external: Honestly #RochesterandStrood, how is voting in the same dude a vote against the status quo?

BBC Radio Kent has been taking calls from listeners about their views on the result.

"I feel there's been a lot of negative campaigning, particularly from the Tories. I think the political system is broken and I think that's why so many people are voting UKIP," says Malcolm Hazleton, from Strood.

Pam McHale, from Rochester, says she voted for Labour after thinking "long and hard". She adds: "In the end I couldn't possibly vote for the Conservative whose values and views were nowhere near my own."

Roger Steare in London tweets, external: UKIP victory at #rochesterandstrood will shake up our arrogant and cosy political elite. Time for a debate about political philosophy

The man who drives the white van pictured in a tweet, external sent out by Labour's Emily Thornberry has told The Sun, external he wants an apology from Labour leader Ed Miliband.

Paul tweets, external: #RochesterandStrood The result shows further disillusion with the current political climate and further misunderstanding of UKIP's policies.

Talking to BBC Radio Kent, Hayley Mills, from Rochester, said: "I don't know whether [Reckless] will be a permanent fixture, I think most people probably have voted UKIP because they've tapped into a discord that people are identifying with.

"I'm not sure if it's just personal ambition from Mark, or whether he really understands the constituency he's representing."

Labour's Emily Thornberry has issued a statement following her resignation as shadow attorney general, after sending a tweet which was widely deemed offensive.

"What I want to say is I got it wrong, I made a mistake, I've resigned and if I've upset anyone or insulted anyone, I apologise, I'm going in this morning for a really important bill for my constituents which is about the privatisation of the National Health Service which we've got to stop, so I'm going in now because I'm serving my constituents."

Graham McDougall tweets, external: #RochesterandStrood The people want a competent government who have integrity. What choice are we given? The status quo is not good enough.

Mark Reckless has urged more MPs to join UKIP. In an exclusive BBC interview, Mr Reckless said he would not predict how many more Conservatives might defect to UKIP because it was a "very individual decision". But he pointed to the party's record.

"We may be two MPs but we represent millions of voters," he said. "If you look at the impact Douglas (Carswell) has had just as one MP in terms of what the prime minister has been saying, what the opposition are now saying on issues that UKIP have campaigned on."

Alan Soady
political correspondent, BBC News

UKIP's new MP, Mark Reckless, has already come under fire in the Commons - just moments after being sworn in.

The veteran Labour MP, Dennis Skinner, pointed at Mr Reckless and his UKIP colleague Douglas Carswell and accused them of wanting to send foreigners back to their country of origin.

Earlier this week, Mr Reckless was accused of suggesting that some Europeans living in the UK might have to leave if the UK left the European Union - something he later said was not the party's policy.

Will Holmes tweets, external: Every vote for UKIP is a small but significant step backwards for humankind #RochesterandStrood