Has David Davies gained or lost from the by-election?

The by-election was meant to be a rallying-cry for civil liberties. The electorate was to be given the chance to vent their anger at the government. And what happens ? A turn-out of 35%. I can see the miscalculated shrewdness of DD's maneouvre : stand dramatically on a civil liberties platform in a constituency where Labour is likely to fail anyway. Win the by-election and claim it as a popular stand against Labour's infringement of our civil liberties. Labour's not contesting the seat makes Labour look afraid of putting '42-days' to the public. Nice strategy but a total failure in the event : 65% of the electorate are indifferent or agree with the government. To make his point against the government - let the people speak and they'll reject your dangerous meddling with our freedoms - he needed a big turnout. I wouldn't call the by-election a 'stunt' but since Davies plainly hasn't got the electorate mobbing at his side, the whole exercise has got him nowhere. Am I wrong?