List of United Kingdom by-elections (1979–2010) explained

There were 131 parliamentary by-elections in the United Kingdom between the 1979 and 2010 general elections. In the list below, the names of the incumbent and victor and their respective parties are given. Where seats changed political party at the election, the result is highlighted: blue for a Conservative gain, red for a Labour gain, yellow for an SNP gain, orange for a Liberal, Social Democratic Party or Liberal Democrat gain and other colours for other gains.

Resignations

See main article: Resignation from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

Where the cause of by-election is given as "resignation" or "seeks re-election", this indicates that the incumbent was appointed on his or her own request to an "office of profit under the Crown", either the Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds or the Steward of the Manor of Northstead. Accepting an office of profit under the Crown vacates the member's seat. This process is used because members of the House of Commons are not technically permitted to resign. A member who resigns in this manner may stand for re-election.

By-elections

2005–2010 Parliament

There were 14 by-elections in the 2005–2010 Parliament. Eight were in seats held by the governing Labour party, three by the Conservatives, one by the Liberal Democrats, one by an independent and one by the speaker. Eight by-elections were won by the incumbent party, including in Haltemprice and Howden where Conservative David Davis resigned to recontest his seat. Meanwhile, Blaenau Gwent was won by a second independent candidate. Labour lost four seats; two to the Conservatives, one to the Liberal Democrats and one to the SNP. The speaker's seat was regained by Labour, the party speaker Michael Martin represented before he took up the position in a previous constituency. Eight by-elections were a result of the death of the incumbent MP - five Labour MPs died, along with one Liberal Democrat, one Conservative and independent MP Peter Law.

At the dissolution of Parliament in 2010 there were three vacancies: North West Leicestershire and Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, caused by the death of their respective Labour members David Taylor and Ashok Kumar; and Strangford caused by the resignation of the DUP's Iris Robinson. With the close proximity of the 2010 general election, by-elections were not held in these seats. Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland and Strangford were held by Tom Blenkinsop and Jim Shannon respectively, but North West Leicestershire was won by Conservative Andrew Bridgen.

By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party	Winner	Party	Cause
Glasgow North East^[1]	12 November 2009	Michael Martin		Willie Bain		Resignation
Norwich North	23 July 2009	Ian Gibson		Chloe Smith		Resignation
Glenrothes	6 November 2008	John MacDougall		Lindsay Roy		Death (mesothelioma)
Glasgow East^[2]	24 July 2008	David Marshall		John Mason		Resignation due to ill health
Haltemprice and Howden	10 July 2008	David Davis		David Davis		Resigned to recontest
Henley	26 June 2008	Boris Johnson		John Howell		Election as Mayor of London
Crewe and Nantwich	22 May 2008	Gwyneth Dunwoody		Edward Timpson		Death (heart attack)
Sedgefield	19 July 2007	Tony Blair		Phil Wilson		Resignation on appointment as Middle East Envoy
Ealing Southall	19 July 2007	Piara Khabra		Virendra Sharma		Death (liver problems)
Bromley and Chislehurst	29 June 2006	Eric Forth		Bob Neill		Death (cancer)
Blaenau Gwent	29 June 2006	Peter Law		Dai Davies		Death (cancer)
Dunfermline and West Fife	9 February 2006	Rachel Squire		Willie Rennie		Death (cancer/stroke)
Livingston	29 September 2005	Robin Cook		Jim Devine		Death (heart disease)
Cheadle	14 July 2005	Patsy Calton		Mark Hunter		Death (cancer)

2001–2005 Parliament

There were six by-elections in the 2001–2005 Parliament. Each were in seats held by the governing Labour party, four of which were held and two won by the Liberal Democrats. Four by-elections were a result of the death of the incumbent MP.

By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party	Winner	Party	Cause
Hartlepool	30 September 2004	Peter Mandelson		Iain Wright		Resignation on appointment as European Commissioner
Birmingham Hodge Hill	15 July 2004	Terry Davis		Liam Byrne		Resignation on appointment as Secretary-General of the Council of Europe
Leicester South^[3]	15 July 2004	Jim Marshall		Parmjit Singh Gill		Death (heart attack)
Brent East^[4]	18 September 2003	Paul Daisley		Sarah Teather		Death (cancer)
Ogmore	14 February 2002	Sir Raymond Powell		Huw Irranca-Davies		Death (unknown; probable asthma attack)
Ipswich	22 November 2001	Jamie Cann		Chris Mole		Death (liver disease)

1997–2001 Parliament

There were 17 by-elections in the 1997–2001 Parliament. Eight were in seats held by the governing Labour party, five by the Conservatives, one by the Liberal Democrats, one by Plaid Cymru, one by the Ulster Unionist Party and one by the speaker. 14 by-elections were won by the incumbent party. The Conservatives lost one seat to the Liberal Democrats, and the Democratic Unionist Party gained South Antrim from the Ulster Unionists. The speaker's seat was regained by Labour, the party speaker Betty Boothroyd represented before she took up the position. Ten by-elections were a result of the death of the incumbent MP; six were Labour, three Conservative and one was the Ulster Unionist MP Clifford Forsythe.

By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Falkirk West	21 December 2000	Dennis Canavan	/ Independent^[5]	Eric Joyce		Resignation in order to concentrate on his role as a Member of the Scottish Parliament
West Bromwich West	23 November 2000	Betty Boothroyd	^[6]	Adrian Bailey		Life peerage
Preston	23 November 2000	Audrey Wise		Mark Hendrick		Death (cancer)
Glasgow Anniesland	23 November 2000	Donald Dewar		John Robertson		Death (Brain haemorrhage after heart surgery)
South Antrim	21 September 2000^[7]	Clifford Forsythe		William McCrea		Death (sudden illness)
Tottenham	22 June 2000	Bernie Grant		David Lammy		Death (heart attack)
Romsey	4 May 2000^[8]	Michael Colvin		Sandra Gidley		Death (accidental fire)
Ceredigion	3 February 2000	Cynog Dafis		Simon Thomas		Resignation following election to the Welsh Assembly
Kensington and Chelsea	25 November 1999	Alan Clark		Michael Portillo		Death (cancer)
Wigan	23 September 1999	Roger Stott		Neil Turner		Death (long illness)
Hamilton South	23 September 1999	George Robertson		Bill Tynan		Life peerage upon appointment as Secretary-General of NATO
Eddisbury	22 July 1999	Alastair Goodlad		Stephen O'Brien		Appointment as High Commissioner to Australia
Leeds Central	10 June 1999	Derek Fatchett		Hilary Benn		Death (heart attack)
Winchester	20 November 1997	Mark Oaten		Mark Oaten		Void election
Beckenham	20 November 1997	Piers Merchant		Jacqui Lait		Resignation (scandal)
Paisley South	6 November 1997	Gordon McMaster		Douglas Alexander		Death (suicide)
Uxbridge	31 July 1997	Sir Michael Shersby		John Randall		Death (heart attack)

1992–1997 Parliament

There were 18 by-elections in the 1992–1997 Parliament. Eight were in seats held by the governing Conservative party, nine by Labour and one by the Ulster Popular Unionist Party. Nine by-elections were won by the incumbent party, all of which happened to be Labour. The Conservatives lost all eight seats in the by-elections - four to the Liberal Democrats, three to Labour and one to the SNP. The UK Unionist Party gained North Down from the Ulster Popular Unionists. 16 by-elections were a result of the death of the incumbent MP - eight Conservatives died, along with seven Labour MPs and the Ulster Popular Unionist MP Sir James Kilfedder.

At the dissolution of Parliament in 1997 there were two vacancies: Meriden, caused by the death of its Conservative member Iain Mills, and Don Valley, caused by the death of its Labour member Martin Redmond. With the close proximity of the 1997 general election, by-elections were not held in these seats. They were held by Caroline Spelman and Caroline Flint respectively.

By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Wirral South	27 February 1997^[9]	Barry Porter		Ben Chapman		Death (cancer)
Barnsley East	12 December 1996	Terry Patchett		Jeff Ennis		Death (cancer)
South East Staffordshire	11 April 1996	Sir David Lightbown		Brian Jenkins		Death (heart attack)
Hemsworth	1 February 1996	Derek Enright		Jon Trickett		Death (cancer)
Littleborough and Saddleworth	27 July 1995^[10]	Geoffrey Dickens		Chris Davies		Death (long illness)
North Down	15 June 1995	Sir James Kilfedder		Robert McCartney		Death (heart attack)
Perth and Kinross	25 May 1995	Sir Nicholas Fairbairn		Roseanna Cunningham		Death (liver cirrhosis)
Islwyn	16 February 1995	Neil Kinnock		Don Touhig		Appointment as European Commissioner
Dudley West	15 December 1994	John Blackburn		Ian Pearson		Death (heart attack)
Monklands East	30 June 1994	John Smith		Helen Liddell		Death (heart attack)
Newham North East	9 June 1994	Ron Leighton		Stephen Timms		Death
Eastleigh	9 June 1994	Stephen Milligan		David Chidgey		Death (auto-erotic asphyxiation)
Dagenham	9 June 1994	Bryan Gould		Judith Church		Appointment as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Waikato, New Zealand
Bradford South	9 June 1994	Bob Cryer		Gerry Sutcliffe		Death (road accident)
Barking	9 June 1994	Jo Richardson		Margaret Hodge		Death (long illness)
Rotherham	5 May 1994	Jimmy Boyce		Denis MacShane		Death (heart attack)
Christchurch	29 July 1993^[11]	Robert Adley		Diana Maddock		Death (heart attack)
Newbury	6 May 1993	Judith Chaplin		David Rendel		Death (complications following surgery)

1987–1992 Parliament

There were 24 by-elections in the 1987–1992 Parliament. Ten were in seats held by the governing Conservative party, 13 by Labour and one by the Ulster Unionist Party. 16 by-elections were won by the incumbent party. Labour lost one seat to the SNP, and the Conservatives lost seven seats; four to Labour and three to the Liberal Democrats. 20 by-elections were a result of the death of the incumbent MP - 11 Labour MPs died, along with eight Conservatives and Ulster Unionist Harold McCusker.

By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Langbaurgh	7 November 1991^[12]	Richard Holt		Ashok Kumar		Death
Kincardine and Deeside	7 November 1991	Alick Buchanan-Smith		Nicol Stephen		Death
Hemsworth	7 November 1991	George Buckley		Derek Enright		Death
Liverpool Walton	4 July 1991	Eric Heffer		Peter Kilfoyle		Death (cancer)
Monmouth	16 May 1991	Sir John Stradling Thomas		Huw Edwards		Death
Neath	4 April 1991	Donald Coleman		Peter Hain		Death
Ribble Valley	7 March 1991	David Waddington		Michael Carr		Life peerage on appointment as Leader of the House of Lords
Paisley South	29 November 1990	Norman Buchan		Gordon McMaster		Death
Paisley North	29 November 1990	Allen Adams		Irene Adams		Death (brain haemorrhage)
Bradford North	8 November 1990	Pat Wall		Terry Rooney		Death (long illness)
Bootle	8 November 1990	Michael Carr		Joseph Benton		Death (heart attack)
Eastbourne	18 October 1990	Ian Gow		David Bellotti		Death (terrorism)
Knowsley South	27 September 1990	Sean Hughes		Edward O'Hara		Death (cancer)
Bootle	24 May 1990	Allan Roberts		Michael Carr		Death (cancer)
Upper Bann	17 May 1990	Harold McCusker		David Trimble		Death (cancer)
Mid Staffordshire	22 March 1990	John Heddle		Sylvia Heal		Death (suicide)
Vauxhall	15 June 1989	Stuart Holland		Kate Hoey		Appointment to the European University Institute, Florence
Glasgow Central	15 June 1989	Bob McTaggart		Mike Watson		Death (heart attack)
Vale of Glamorgan	4 May 1989	Sir Raymond Gower		John Smith		Death
Richmond	23 February 1989	Leon Brittan		William Hague		Appointment as European Commissioner
Pontypridd	23 February 1989	Brynmor John		Kim Howells		Death (chronic fatigue syndrome)
Epping Forest	15 December 1988	Sir John Biggs-Davison		Steven Norris		Death
Glasgow Govan	10 November 1988	Bruce Millan		Jim Sillars		Appointment as European Commissioner
Kensington	14 July 1988	Sir Brandon Rhys Williams, Bt.		Dudley Fishburn		Death (leukaemia)

1983–1987 Parliament

There were 31 by-elections in the 1983–1987 Parliament. Nine were in seats held by the governing Conservative party, six by Labour and one by the Liberals. The remaining 15 were in Northern Ireland, involving the province's own political parties. 25 by-elections were won by the incumbent party, including all in Northern Ireland except one. The Conservatives lost five seats; one to Labour, two to the Liberals, and two to the Social Democrats. The Ulster Unionists lost one seat to the Social Democratic and Labour Party. 11 by-elections were the result of the death of the incumbent MP; seven were Conservatives, three Labour and one Liberal.

By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Truro	12 March 1987	David Penhaligon		Matthew Taylor		Death (road accident)
Greenwich	26 February 1987^[13]	Guy Barnett		Rosie Barnes		Death
Knowsley North	13 November 1986	Robert Kilroy-Silk		George Howarth		New BBC TV presenter career
Newcastle-under-Lyme	17 July 1986	John Golding		Llin Golding		Appointment as General Secretary of the National Communications Union
Ryedale	8 May 1986^[14]	John Spence		Elizabeth Shields		Death
West Derbyshire	8 May 1986	Matthew Parris		Patrick McLoughlin		Appointment as presenter of LWT programme Weekend World
Fulham	10 April 1986	Martin Stevens		Nick Raynsford		Death
Upper Bann	23 January 1986	Harold McCusker		Harold McCusker		Sought re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Strangford	23 January 1986	John Taylor		John Taylor		Sought re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Newry & Armagh	23 January 1986	James Nicholson		Seamus Mallon		Sought re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
North Antrim	23 January 1986	Ian Paisley		Ian Paisley		Sought re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
East Antrim	23 January 1986	Roy Beggs		Roy Beggs		Sought re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
South Antrim	23 January 1986	Clifford Forsythe		Clifford Forsythe		Sought re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Belfast North	23 January 1986	Cecil Walker		Cecil Walker		Sought re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Belfast East	23 January 1986	Peter Robinson		Peter Robinson		Sought re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Belfast South	23 January 1986	Martin Smyth		Martin Smyth		Sought re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
North Down	23 January 1986	James Kilfedder		James Kilfedder		Sought re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
South Down	23 January 1986^[15]	Enoch Powell		Enoch Powell		Sought re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Fermanagh & South Tyrone	23 January 1986	Ken Maginnis		Ken Maginnis		Sought re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Lagan Valley	23 January 1986	James Molyneaux		James Molyneaux		Sought re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
East Londonderry	23 January 1986	William Ross		William Ross		Sought re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Mid Ulster	23 January 1986	William McCrea		William McCrea		Sought re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Tyne Bridge	5 December 1985	Harry Cowans		David Clelland		Death
Brecon and Radnor	4 July 1985	Tom Hooson		Richard Livsey		Death (heart attack)
Enfield Southgate	13 December 1984	Sir Anthony Berry		Michael Portillo		Death (terrorism)
Portsmouth South	14 June 1984	Bonner Pink		Mike Hancock		Death
South West Surrey	3 May 1984	Viscount Macmillan of Ovenden		Virginia Bottomley		Death (heart failure)
Stafford	3 May 1984	Sir Hugh Fraser		Bill Cash		Death (lung cancer)
Cynon Valley	3 May 1984	Ioan Evans		Ann Clwyd		Death
Chesterfield	1 March 1984	Eric Varley		Tony Benn		Appointment as Chairman of Coalite PLC
Penrith and the Border	28 July 1983	William Whitelaw		David Maclean		Hereditary peerage on appointment as Leader of the House of Lords

1979–1983 Parliament

There were 20 by-elections in the 1979–1983 Parliament. Seven were in seats held by the governing Conservative party, ten by Labour, one by the Ulster Unionists and two (in the same seat) by Irish republican parties, who do not take up their seats in the House of Commons. 13 by-elections were won by the incumbent party. The Conservatives lost four seats: one to Labour, one to the Liberals and two to the Social Democrats, and Labour lost two seats: one to the Liberals and one to the Conservatives. Meanwhile, the seat of Fermanagh and South Tyrone was won from the Independent Republican Party by Anti H-Block, a branch of Sinn Féin. 15 by-elections were a result of the death of the incumbent MP; six were Conservatives, six Labour, and the others were the Ulster Unionist Robert Bradford, the Independent Republican Frank Maguire and the Anti H-Block member Bobby Sands (who was in prison).

By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Darlington	24 March 1983^[16]	Edward Fletcher		Oswald O'Brien		Death
Bermondsey	24 February 1983^[17]	Robert Mellish	/Ind Labour	Simon Hughes		Resignation (dispute with party)
Glasgow Queen's Park	2 December 1982	Frank McElhone		Helen McElhone		Death
Peckham	28 October 1982	Harry Lamborn		Harriet Harman		Death
Birmingham Northfield	28 October 1982^[18]	Jocelyn Cadbury		John Spellar		Death (suicide)
Gower	16 September 1982	Ifor Davies		Gareth Wardell		Death
Coatbridge and Airdrie	24 June 1982	James Dempsey		Thomas Clarke		Death
Mitcham and Morden	3 June 1982^[19]	Bruce Douglas-Mann	/Ind SDP	Angela Rumbold		Sought re-election upon change of party allegiance
Beaconsfield	27 May 1982	Sir Ronald Bell		Tim Smith		Death
Glasgow Hillhead	25 March 1982	Sir Thomas Galbraith		Roy Jenkins		Death
Belfast South	4 March 1982	Robert Bradford		Martin Smyth		Death (killed by IRA)
Crosby	26 November 1981	Sir Graham Page		Shirley Williams		Death
Croydon North West	22 October 1981	Robert Taylor		Bill Pitt		Death
Fermanagh & South Tyrone	20 August 1981^[20]	Bobby Sands		Owen Carron		Death (hunger strike)
Warrington	16 July 1981	Sir Thomas Williams		Douglas Hoyle		Appointment as High Court judge
Fermanagh & South Tyrone	9 April 1981	Frank Maguire		Bobby Sands		Death
Glasgow Central	26 June 1980	Thomas McMillan		Bob McTaggart		Death (fall)
Southend East	13 March 1980	Sir Stephen McAdden		Teddy Taylor		Death (fall)
South West Hertfordshire	13 December 1979	Geoffrey Dodsworth		Richard Page		Resignation on medical advice
Manchester Central	27 September 1979	Harold Lever		Robert Litherland		Life peerage

See also

• List of United Kingdom by-elections (2010–present)
• List of United Kingdom by-elections (1950–1979)
• United Kingdom by-election records

References

1. Gain retained at the 2010 general election.
2. Gain not retained at the 2010 general election.
3. Gain not retained at the 2005 general election.
4. Gain retained at the 2005 general election.
5. [Dennis Canavan]
6. Betty Boothroyd had originally been elected as a Labour MP.
7. Gain not retained at the 2001 general election.
8. Gain retained at the 2001 general election.
9. Gain retained at the 1997 general election.
10. [Littleborough and Saddleworth (UK Parliament constituency)|Littleborough and Saddleworth]
11. Gain not retained at the 1997 general election.
12. Gain not retained at the 1992 general election.
13. Gain retained at the 1987 general election.
14. Gain not retained at the 1987 general election.
15. [Enoch Powell]
16. [Oswald O'Brien]
17. Gain retained at the 1983 general election.
18. Gain not retained at the 1983 general election.
19. Mitcham and Morden was the last time an incumbent government gained a seat from the opposition in a by-election until the Copeland by-election on 23 February 2017.
20. Following Sands' death, Owen Carron retained the seat for Anti H-Block in the second by-election and defended it as Sinn Féin in the 1983 general election but lost to the Ulster Unionists.

Sources

• United Kingdom Election Results (David Boothroyd)
• United Kingdom Elections (Keele University)
• British Parliamentary By-Elections since 1945
  • F. W. S. Craig (1984). British parliamentary election results, 1974–1983. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. .
• F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Statistics 1832–1987
• F. W. S. Craig (1987). Chronology of British by-elections, 1832–1987. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. .