Please read the following table in HTML format from a webpage and then answer the question in detail according to the table. Each table cell is defined by a <td> and a </td> tag. Each table row starts with a <tr> and ends with a </tr> tag. 'rowspan=m' and 'colspan=n' represents a cell spaning over 'm' rows and 'n' columns.

Webpage title:
Liverpool Edge Hill (UK Parliament constituency)
Table title:
Members of Parliament
Table:
<table id='hittask' contenteditable='False'>
<tr> <th colspan=2 rowspan=1 > Election </th><th colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Member </th><th colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Party </th></tr>
<tr> <td colspan=1 rowspan=1 >  </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 1918 </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > William Watson Rutherford </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Conservative </td></tr>
<tr> <td colspan=1 rowspan=1 >  </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 1923 by-election </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > John Henry Hayes </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Labour </td></tr>
<tr> <td colspan=1 rowspan=1 >  </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 1931 </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Sir Hugo Rutherford, Bt </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Conservative </td></tr>
<tr> <td colspan=1 rowspan=1 >  </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 1935 </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Alexander Critchley </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Conservative </td></tr>
<tr> <td colspan=1 rowspan=1 >  </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 1945 </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Richard Clitherow </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Labour </td></tr>
<tr> <td colspan=1 rowspan=1 >  </td><td class="highlighted"  colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 1947 by-election </td><td colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Arthur Irvine </td><td class="highlighted"  colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Labour </td></tr>
<tr> <td colspan=1 rowspan=1 >  </td><td class="highlighted"  colspan=1 rowspan=1 > 1979 by-election </td><td class="highlighted"  colspan=1 rowspan=1 > David Alton </td><td class="highlighted"  colspan=1 rowspan=1 > Liberal </td></tr>
<tr> <td colspan=2 rowspan=1 > 1983 </td><td colspan=2 rowspan=1 > constituency abolished </td></tr>
</table>
Question:
Who defeated Labour in the 1979 by-election?
Answer:
In the 1979 by-election, Labour lost the seat to Liberal David Alton.