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Former Labour immigration minister Phil Woolas has lost his bid to overturn a court ruling that stripped him of his Commons seat.
In early November a court found Woolas guilty of illegal practices under election law, the first such case in a century, and the May 6 vote in the constituency of Oldham East and Saddleworth was therefore void.
Last month the Speaker ruled that the by-election to replace Woolas would have to wait until after his appeal had been heard.
In May Woolas beat Liberal Democrat Elwyn Watkins in May by just 103 votes.
Watkins challenged the result, claiming the Labour incumbent had lied about him in campaign literature.
Watkins accused the former immigration minister of stirring up racial tensions in the constituency and of falsely claiming the Lib Dem had failed to condemn death threats made against Woolas by extremists.
As a result of the court case, Woolas was barred from standing for parliament for three years. He has also been suspended from the Labour party.
Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman came under pressure from fellow Labour MPs for her decision to rule that Woolas' career in the party was over even he successfully appealed the ruling.
"It won't change the facts that were found by the election court, which was that he said things that were untrue knowing it, and that is what we are taking action on," she said.
"Because it is not part of Labour's politics for somebody to be telling lies to get themselves elected. That's not going to change, and that's what we regard as very serious and that's why we have suspended him."
Woolas was able to appeal the decision that stripped him of his seat after raising money for the bid from sympathetic friends including MPs and party members.
Some MPs have warned that the courts intervention the election raised worrying constitutional issues.
Speaking in the Commons last month Edward Leigh (Con, Gainsborough) said the electorate not the courts should remove MPs.
He said the judgement will leave parliamentary candidates "terrified of attacking" their opponents.
While David Winnick (Lab, Walsall North) said he was concerned that the fate of Woolas has been taken out of the hands of Parliament.
MPs are elected and it should be for the electorate to decide whether or not to remove them, he said.
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