NSW by-election results show swing to Labor

The Liberals managed to cling on to the seats of Manly and North Shore, despite suffering double-digit hits to their primary vote, while Labor increased its margin in the seat of Gosford.

Paralympian Liesl Tesch is celebrating her victory for Labor in the NSW seat of Gosford by-election. Source: AAP

The Liberal Party held on by the skin of its teeth to claim victory in North Shore despite suffering a primary vote hit of about 16 per cent.

Liberal candidate Felicity Wilson benefited from the number of minor party voters who chose not to give optional preferences, which would have bolstered the chances of the leading independent candidate, Carolyn Corrigan.

In Mr Baird's old seat of Manly the primary vote swing against Liberal candidate James Griffin was even bigger.

Mr Griffin's primary vote was about 25 per cent lower than Mr Baird achieved in 2015.

In Gosford, Labor's Liesl Tesch increased her party's hold on what was the state's most marginal seat to a two-party preferred buffer of more than 12 per cent.