2022 Wakefield by-election explained

Election Name:2022 Wakefield by-election
Type:parliamentary
Seats For Election:Wakefield constituency
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2019 United Kingdom general election
Previous Year:2019
Next Election:2024 United Kingdom general election
Next Year:2024
Election Date:23 June 2022
Turnout:39.1% (25.0 pp)
Registered:69,601
Image1:Official portrait of Simon Lightwood, 2022 (cropped).jpg
Party1:Labour Party (UK)
Popular Vote1:13,166
Percentage1:47.9%
Swing1:8.6 pp
Party2:Conservative Party (UK)
Popular Vote2:8,241
Percentage2:30.0%
Swing2:17.0 pp
Image3: Ind
Party3:Independent politician
Popular Vote3:2,090
Percentage3:7.7%
Swing3:New
MP
Before Election:Imran Ahmad Khan
Before Party:Conservative Party (UK)
After Election:Simon Lightwood
After Party:Labour Party (UK)
Country:United Kingdom

A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Wakefield was held on 23 June 2022.[1] [2] It was triggered by the resignation, on 3 May 2022, of Member of Parliament (MP) Imran Ahmad Khan, who was elected as a Conservative at the 2019 general election and resigned following a criminal conviction for child sexual assault. Ahmad Khan was subsequently jailed for 18 months.

The election was won by Simon Lightwood of the Labour Party, and was the first by-election gain made by Labour since 2012.[3] It was held on the same day as the Tiverton and Honiton by-election in Devon, which the Conservatives lost to the Liberal Democrats.[4] This marked the first time since the 1991 Kincardine and Deeside and Langbaurgh by-elections that the UK government had lost two seats at two by-elections held on the same day.

Background

Constituency

Wakefield lies in the county of West Yorkshire. The seat covers most of Wakefield itself (besides the Wakefield South ward), the small towns of Ossett and Horbury, and the more rural parishes of Crigglestone, Sitlington, West Bretton and Woolley. In the 2016 EU referendum, 63% of the voters who turned out voted to leave the European Union.[5]

The by-election was expected to be the ninth or tenth of the 2019 Parliament. Before Ahmad Khan won the seat for the Conservatives at the 2019 general election, it had been held by the Labour Party since the 1932 Wakefield by-election, when Labour gained the seat from the Conservatives.[6] The seat is regarded as part of the so-called "red wall", and Labour hoped to regain it.[7]

Trigger

Ahmad Khan was first elected as the Conservative MP for Wakefield in the 2019 general election. He lost the whip in June 2021 after being charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 2008. He sat as an independent for the remaining months of his tenure as MP.[8] He was convicted of the assault on 11 April 2022 and expelled from the party,[9] [10] announcing his intention to resign as an MP on 14 April 2022.[11] [12] On 25 April, Khan submitted his resignation, effective from 30 April, enabling him to claim his full pay as MP for the month.[13] [14] On 3 May Khan was appointed as Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern, officially ceasing to be an MP.[15] On 23 May Khan was sentenced to 18 months in prison.[16]

On 17 May the writ of election was moved by the Chief Whip, Chris Heaton-Harris, formally triggering the by-election. It was scheduled to be held on 23 June 2022, the same day as the Tiverton and Honiton by-election.[17]

Candidates

Conservative Party

The Daily Telegraph reported that Lord Frost was being urged by his allies to stand in the seat.[18] In its Steerpike opinion piece, The Spectator discussed the prospect of Frost being the Conservative candidate, noting the Telegraphs support for the idea.[19]

On 20 May 2022, the Conservatives published a shortlist of three candidates: Nadeem Ahmed, a Conservative councillor for Wakefield South ward and Leader of the Wakefield Conservative group from 2014 to 2021;[20] Laura Weldon, council candidate for Wakefield West in the 2022 election and former Deputy Leader of the Yorkshire Party;[21] and Tanya Graham, previously the Conservative candidate for Bradford South in both the 2015 and 2017 elections. Ahmed was chosen as the candidate on 22 May.[22]

Labour Party

Mary Creagh, Labour MP for the constituency until the 2019 general election, confirmed in a statement on Twitter that she would not be seeking to be the party's candidate for the by-election.[23] [24] Sources within the Labour Party initially suggested that Ed Balls, former minister and MP for neighbouring Morley and Outwood, could be a potential candidate in the by-election with the backing of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, as reported by Politico and The Times.[25] Balls responded on social media that he would not be putting his name forward as the Labour candidate.[26]

In March 2022, LabourList wrote that Jack Hemingway, deputy leader of Wakefield Council, was considered the frontrunner,[27] but his name ultimately did not appear on the longlist, nor did three other local candidates who had put their names forward.[28] This was criticised by the local party for contradicting one of Keir Starmer's ten pledges during the 2020 Labour leadership election: "The selections for Labour candidates needs to be more democratic and we should end NEC impositions of candidates. Local Party members should select their candidates for every election."

The party announced four candidates for the longlist: Community Union employee Kate Dearden; Sam Howarth, an employee of Barnsley Central MP Dan Jarvis who previously worked for Jenny Chapman; NHS worker Simon Lightwood, who formerly worked as a staffer for Creagh; and Rachael Kenningham.[29]

Wakefield Constituency Labour Party (CLP) selected Dearden and Lightwood for the shortlist,[30] but the following day, the entire CLP executive committee (barring one externally appointed individual)[31] resigned in protest at the absence of any candidates on the list who lived in Wakefield. In a statement, they said: "We asked for local candidates, but there are none. Three prominent council and local Labour candidates, including the deputy council leader didn't even make it onto the 'long list'. A short list of four was requested by our representative on the panel to give members some choice but the NEC members insisted on just two."[32]

Lightwood was selected on 15 May on a turnout of 23% of local party members.[33] The local Labour committee walked out of the room, but The Guardian reported that "several officers appeared to be uneasy about the walkout".[34]

Other parties

The Yorkshire Party selected the Crigglestone-based former Conservative councillor David Herdson as their candidate.[35] Herdson and independent candidate, Akef Akbar, are both former Conservative Party councillors.[36]

The Liberal Democrats selected Jamie Needle as their candidate. Needle previously contested the constituency in 2019.[37]

In May 2022, George Galloway, who ran in the 2021 Batley and Spen by-election, suggested he might stand in this by-election for the Workers Party,[38] but ultimately he did not declare.

The Green Party selected Ashley Routh as their candidate.[39] Reform UK selected Chris Walsh as their candidate.[40] Britain First selected Ashlea Simon as their candidate.[41]

Opinion polls

PollsterClientDate(s)
conducted		data-sort-type="number" rowspan="2"Sample
size		ConLabReformLib DemGreenOthersdata-sort-type="number" rowspan="2"Lead
data-sort-type="number" style="background:;"data-sort-type="number" style="background:;"data-sort-type="number" style="background:;"data-sort-type="number" style="background:;"data-sort-type="number" style="background:;"
2022 by-election–30.0%47.9%1.9%1.8%2.1%16.3%17.9%
Survation38 Degrees51933%56%3%2%2%5%23%
JL PartnersThe Times50128%48%3%7%8%6%20%
2019 general election–47.3%39.8%6.1%3.9%–2.9%7.5%

Notes

Result and votes

The by-election was won by Labour with a majority of 4,925 votes, or 17.9 percentage points, with a swing of 12.7% from the Conservatives towards Labour.[3]

Reactions

Labour leader Keir Starmer said the election was a judgment on the Tories and Boris Johnson, and "if they had any decency they would get out of the way for the sake of the country". He said the result put Labour on track to form a government.[42] He also said the people of Wakefield had exercised a judgment of no confidence in the Conservative government.[43]

Political scientist Sir John Curtice noted that of five consecutive by-elections defended by the Tories, they had only successfully defended one of them. He stated that the average drop in support in those five by-elections, of 20%, was the worst by-election record by a governing party since John Major's government. However, Curtice also wrote that it was unclear whether enthusiasm for Labour had materialised as in Tony Blair's 1997 victory, and that Labour's victory was more due to tactical voting against the Conservatives. He pointed to Labour's smaller vote share than their 2017 performance in the constituency as well as some "disaffected" Tories voting for independent Akef Akbar instead.[44]

Simon Lightwood, the new MP, pledged in his victory speech to "restore trust" in politics, saying the result showed that Wakefield voters had tired of the "deceit and dishonesty of this [Conservative] government".[45]

In the wake of Conservative losses in both Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton, Oliver Dowden resigned from his roles as Conservative Party Co-Chairman and Minister without Portfolio, stating: "We cannot carry on with business as usual. Someone must take responsibility".[46]

Notes and References

  1. News: O'Donoghue . Dan . 17 May 2022 . Wakefield by election confirmed as government formally calls the vote . . live . 17 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220517123750/https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/wakefield-election-date-confirmed-government-23980220 . 17 May 2022.
  2. Web site: Notice of Election . . 19 May 2022 . 19 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220519185948/https://www.wakefield.gov.uk/Documents/elections/elections-2022/published-notice-of-election-23-june-2022.pdf . live .
  3. News: Wakefield by-election result: Labour defeat Tories to retake seat. BBC News. Airey. Tom. 24 June 2022. 24 June 2022.
  4. News: Walker . Peter . 24 June 2022 . Tories lose two key byelections on same night in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton . . 24 June 2022.
  5. Web site: Seat Details - Wakefield . 25 April 2022 . www.electoralcalculus.co.uk . 12 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220412115610/https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Wakefield . live .
  6. Web site: 15 February 2015 . House of Commons . 14 April 2022 . usurped . https://web.archive.org/web/20150215181722/http://www.leighrayment.com/commons.htm . 15 February 2015 .
  7. Web site: Adu . Aletha . 14 April 2022 . Tory Imran Ahmad Khan quits as MP triggering by-election after sexual assault conviction . Daily Mirror . Reach . 14 April 2022 . 14 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220414162318/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/breaking-tory-mp-imran-ahmad-26715947 . live .
  8. News: 11 April 2022 . Imran Ahmad Khan: What happens when an MP is convicted? . BBC News . Vincent . James . 14 April 2022 . 13 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220413171802/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-61031276 . live .
  9. News: 11 April 2022 . MP thrown out of Conservative Party after being found guilty of sexual assault of boy . 11 April 2022 . Atkinson . Emily . The Independent . 11 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220411182352/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/imran-ahmad-khan-mp-conservative-b2055830.html . live .
  10. News: 11 April 2022 . Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan found guilty of sexually assaulting boy, 15 . Pidd . Helen . 14 April 2022 . The Guardian . 14 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220414012007/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/apr/11/tory-mp-imran-ahmad-khan-guilty-sexually-assaulting-boy-15 . live .
  11. Web site: Steerpike . Exclusive: disgraced MP to quit . 14 April 2022 . The Spectator . 14 April 2022 . 14 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220414163656/https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/red-wall-by-election-looms-for-boris . live .
  12. News: 14 April 2022 . Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan quits after sexual assault conviction . BBC News . 14 April 2022 . 14 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220414161658/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-61113265 . live .
  13. Web site: 28 April 2022 . Pidd . Helen . Imran Ahmad Khan completes MP resignation process with full April pay . 28 April 2022 . The Guardian . 28 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220428132040/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/apr/28/imran-ahmad-khan-mp-completes-resignation-process . live .
  14. News: Contact Imran Ahmad Khan. UK Parliament. 1 May 2022. 19 April 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220419062537/https://members.parliament.uk/member/4841/contact. live.
  15. Web site: Three Hundreds of Chiltern. GOV.UK. 3 May 2022. 3 May 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220503141626/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/three-hundreds-of-chiltern--11. live.
  16. News: Ex-MP jailed for sex assault on teenage boy . 23 May 2022 . 23 May 2022 . BBC News . 23 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220523143337/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-61549531 . live .
  17. News: Boris Johnson faces test as Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton by-elections triggered . John-Paul . Ford Rojas . 17 May 2022 . 17 May 2022 . Sky News . 17 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220517140504/https://news.sky.com/story/boris-johnson-faces-test-as-wakefield-and-tiverton-and-honiton-by-elections-triggered-12615099 . live .
  18. News: Lord Frost urged to stand for Neil Parish's seat in by-election . The Telegraph . 30 April 2022 . Malnick . Edward . 13 June 2022 . 6 June 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220606033432/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/04/30/lord-frost-urged-stand-neil-parishs-seat-by-election/ . live .
  19. Web site: Steerpike . Will Lord Frost stand as an MP? . 10 May 2022 . The Spectator . 13 May 2022 . 10 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220510142345/https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/will-lord-frost-stand-as-an-mp- . live .
  20. News: Spereall . David . 30 July 2021 . Wakefield Council's Conservative group leader ousted by party colleagues in coup . live . 21 May 2022 . . 22 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220522131849/https://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/politics/wakefield-councils-conservative-group-leader-ousted-by-party-in-coup-3329404 .
  21. News: Ex Yorkshire Party deputy leader rejoins Conservatives and says she wants to hold Boris Johnson to his 'levelling up' promises . David . Spereall . 25 August 2020 . 21 May 2022 . Wakefield Express . 21 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220521010848/https://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/politics/ex-yorkshire-party-deputy-leader-rejoins-conservatives-and-says-she-wants-to-hold-boris-johnson-to-his-levelling-up-promises-2952518 . live .
  22. News: Wakefield by-election: Nadeem Ahmed is Conservative Party pick . 22 May 2022 . BBC News . 22 May 2022 . 22 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220522150858/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-61542614 . live .
  23. Creagh . Mary . MaryCreagh_ . 1514954211015942148 . 15 April 2022. 15 April 2022. I’ve been moved and humbled by people asking me to stand in the Wakefield by-election. After a lot of thought, I have decided not to put myself forward as Labour’s candidate. I am sure voters will choose an MP worthy of our great city..
  24. Web site: Norden . Jasmine . 17 April 2022 . Former Wakefield MP announces she will not run in by-election . 19 April 2022 . YorkshireLive . 18 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220418094550/https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/former-wakefield-mp-says-not-23705735 . live .
  25. News: Wickham . Alex . 20 April 2022 . London Playbook: Indian runner — 8,000 miles apart — Don't mention the NLAW . . live . 20 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220420115911/https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/london-playbook/indian-runner-8000-miles-apart-dont-mention-the-nlaw/ . 20 April 2022.
  26. Web site: Ed Balls strictly not interested in Westminster comeback through Wakefield by-election . Morris . Sophie . 22 April 2022 . 22 April 2022 . Sky News . 22 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220422190720/https://news.sky.com/story/ed-balls-strictly-not-interested-in-westminster-comeback-through-wakefield-by-election-12596317 . live.
  27. News: Rodgers . Sienna . 15 March 2022 . Labour candidates prepare for potential by-election in Wakefield after MP trial . 6 May 2022 . LabourList . 24 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220424095118/https://labourlist.org/2022/03/labour-candidates-prepare-for-potential-by-election-in-wakefield-after-mp-trial/ . live .
  28. News: McCormick . Sebastian . 12 May 2022 . Controversy as Labour announces longlist for Wakefield by election . YorkshireLive . 12 May 2022 . 13 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220513002503/https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/wakefield-election-labour-candidates-mired-23938512 . live .
  29. Web site: Chappell . Elliot . 13 May 2022 . Exclusive: Wakefield local party executive resigns over selection process . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220515040415/https://labourlist.org/2022/05/exclusive-wakefield-local-party-executive-resigns-over-selection-process/ . 15 May 2022 . 16 May 2022 . LabourList.
  30. News: Doherty . Caitlin . 12 May 2022 . Labour shortlists trade unionist and NHS staff member as potential Wakefield by-election candidates . The Yorkshire Post . 13 May 2022 . 12 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220512185134/http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/labour-shortlists-trade-unionist-and-nhs-staff-member-as-potential-wakefield-by-election-candidates-3692280 . live .
  31. elliot_chappell. Chappell. Elliot. 1525831319330205702. "Consequently, The Executive Committee (including all the Officers bar one externally appointed individual) is resigning in consequence, and it will be for the full Constituency General Management Committee to receive our resignations and take matters forward.". 23 May 2022.
  32. News: Bloom . Dan . Dickinson . Katie . 13 May 2022 . Wakefield Labour group's entire committee resigns in by-election candidates row . Daily Mirror . 13 May 2022 . 13 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220513142038/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/wakefield-labour-groups-entire-committee-26958292 . live .
  33. News: 15 May 2022 . Wakefield Labour candidate chosen after committee walks out . BBC News . 16 May 2022 . 15 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220515183806/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-61458020 . live .
  34. News: Elgot . Jessica . 15 May 2022 . Wakefield Labour chiefs walk out of final vote on byelection candidate . The Guardian . 16 May 2022 . 15 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220515200928/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/may/15/wakefield-labour-party-walks-out-of-final-vote-on-bylection-candidate . live .
  35. News: Wakefield By-election: Yorkshire Party selects David Herdson . . 23 May 2022 . 23 May 2022 . 23 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220523093852/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-61549489 . live .
  36. Web site: Two ex-Tories standing against the party in key Yorkshire by election . 8 June 2022 .
  37. News: 24 May 2022 . Wakefield by-election: Lib Dems select Jamie Needle . BBC News . 24 May 2022 . 24 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220524093724/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-61559606 . live .
  38. News: Hyde . Nathan . 17 May 2022 . George Galloway said he may stand in upcoming Wakefield by election . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220517124605/https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/george-galloway-said-he-may-stand-in-upcoming-wakefield-by-election-3697063 . 17 May 2022 . . 17 May 2022.
  39. News: Wakefield by-election: Green Party candidate on cost of living . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-06-10.
  40. News: Wakefield by-election: Reform UK candidate on cost of living . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-06-10.
  41. News: Wakefield by-election: Britain First candidate on cost of living . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-06-10.
  42. https://www.rte.ie/news/2022/0624/1306622-british-politics-labour/ Conservatives are 'absolutely imploding,' says Starmer
  43. News: Wakefield by-election: Labour win a great result, says Keir Starmer ]. BBC News. 26 June 2022.
  44. News: Cecil . Nicholas . 24 June 2022 . Sir John Curtice: Tories in trouble but Keir Starmer still missing crucial spark . . live . 24 June 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220624122332/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/sir-john-curtice-analysis-by-election-results-wakefield-tiverton-honiton-keir-starmer-labour-boris-johnson-b1008172.html . 24 June 2022.
  45. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-61920862 Simon Lightwood: Newly-elected MP says Wakefield people have spoken
  46. Web site: My letter of resignation to the Prime Minister. . 2022-07-06 . Twitter . en.

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