Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- The ruling Labour Party kept control of a U.K. Parliament seat in Scotland, fending off a challenge from nationalists and bolstering Prime Minister Gordon Brown's authority as voters backed his handling of the economic crisis.

Residents of Glenrothes, a district neighboring Brown's own constituency north of Edinburgh, voted to send Labour candidate Lindsay Roy, 59, to the House of Commons. Roy won 55.1 percent of the vote, compared with 36.5 percent for the Scottish Nationalist Party, which wants Scotland to break away from the U.K. The main opposition Conservative Party got 3.8 percent.

For Brown, the win is a break from a run of recent election defeats, and helps consolidate a bounce that has halved the Conservative lead over Labour in opinion polls to 9 percentage points. For the SNP, which was attacked over its record in local government in the area, the result shows the problems of incumbency and suggests voters in Scotland may see independence as a less attractive option during a recession.

``It's a great result for Brown,'' said Steven Fielding, director of the Centre for British Politics at Nottingham University. ``Labour are casting the nationalists as an economic risk, and in the current climate, who wants to take a risk?''

Bookmakers had the SNP favorites to take the seat after the party took a formerly safe Labour constituency in another Parliamentary election in Scotland in July.

Poll Recovery

As recently as September, some Labour lawmakers were calling for Brown to step down after the party slipped 20 points behind the Conservatives in opinion polls. However, he has enjoyed a revival in recent weeks after his plans to end the banking crisis were copied elsewhere in Europe and the U.S. and he pledged to keep spending as the economy slides into its first recession since 1991.

``People are prepared to support governments that offer real help to people in difficult times,'' Brown told reporters in London today. ``People are less willing to support parties who have no answers on this global downturn.''

The election, prompted by the death of Labour lawmaker John MacDougall in August, leaves Labour with 62 seats more than rival parties combined in the 646-seat House of Commons.

The victory spared Brown the scenes of Labour lawmakers calling for him to go that followed previous election defeats. In May, Labour was trounced in local government elections and lost a Parliamentary seat in Crewe, northern England, it had held since World War II. The party lost Glasgow East two months later.

`Lessons to Learn'

Labour increased its share of the vote in Glenrothes by 3.2 points from 51.9 percent at the 2005 general election, while the SNP gained 13 points. SNP leader Alex Salmond, who commands a minority government in the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh after ending a half-century of Labour domination in Scotland- wide elections last year, expressed disappointment that yesterday's swing to his party wasn't larger.

``The remarkable thing about this election was that the Labour Party was able to increase its vote,'' Salmond told reporters in Edinburgh. ``We've got lessons to learn.''

Brown and his wife Sarah broke with the usual rule that prime ministers don't campaign in special elections to visit Glenrothes several times. With Brown's home town only seven miles away, his personal authority was on the line.

The Labour campaign in Glenrothes focused on the decision by the SNP-run local council to increase care charges for the elderly and disabled. Brown also argued that his bailout of Scotland's two largest banks, Royal Bank of Scotland Plc and HBOS Plc, showed that Scots benefit from being part of the U.K.

Interest Rate Cut

Brown also had a polling day boost from the Bank of England's decision yesterday to cut the key interest rate by 1.5 percent to 3 percent, the lowest rate since 1955.

``By holding Glenrothes, Brown could see a growing recovery,'' Bill Jones, a lecturer in politics at the University of Manchester, said in an interview. ``His mini- recovery strengthens, although it may not be enough to totally secure his future.''

The district of Glenrothes includes about 80,000 people and was built after World War II, suffering from the legacy of high unemployment and poverty following the closure of coal pits in the region over the past three decades.

In September, 5.1 percent of the working population claimed jobless benefits, almost double the national average, according to a House of Commons Library analysis. Unemployment in the district has risen 18 percent in the last year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.net. Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 7, 2008 06:46 EST