1995 Littleborough and Saddleworth by-election
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Turnout | 64.5% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A by-election was called to take place on 27 July 1995 in the constituency of Littleborough and Saddleworth in Greater Manchester, England, following the death of Conservative Party MP Geoffrey Dickens on 17 May of that year.
The contest was a win for the Liberal Democrat candidate Chris Davies. The result was notable, for the incumbent Conservative Party fell from first to third place, coming behind both the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats. Davies' conduct during the by-election was controversial owing to his openly campaigning while the sitting MP Geoffrey Dickens was dying from liver cancer.[1]
The second-placed Labour candidate, Phil Woolas, defeated Davies at the 1997 general election in the successor seat of Oldham East and Saddleworth. He held the seat until 2010. Davies went on to represent the North West England region in the European Parliament from 1999 to 2014.
Result
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Chris Davies | 16,231 | 38.5 | +2.7 | |
Labour | Phil Woolas | 14,238 | 33.8 | +14.9 | |
Conservative | John Hudson | 9,934 | 23.6 | –20.6 | |
Monster Raving Loony | Screaming Lord Sutch | 782 | 1.9 | New | |
UKIP | John Whittaker | 549 | 1.3 | New | |
Conversative Party | Peter Douglas | 193 | 0.5 | New | |
Independent | Mr Blobby | 105 | 0.2 | New | |
Socialist (GB) | Andrew Pitts | 46 | 0.1 | New | |
Independent | Lawson McLaren | 33 | 0.1 | New | |
Independent | Colin Palmer | 25 | 0.1 | New | |
Majority | 1,993 | 4.7 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 42,136 | 64.5 | –17.1 | ||
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | –6.0 |
Notes on candidates
[edit]- Mr Blobby was a character on the British television show Noel's House Party. The candidate had changed his name from John McLagan for the purposes of the election.[3] The candidate was not officially endorsed by the BBC, nor was McLagan the actual actor of Mr Blobby.
- The candidate L. McLaren used the party description "Probity for Imposed Candidates"
See also
[edit]- Littleborough and Saddleworth (UK Parliament constituency)
- Oldham East and Saddleworth (UK Parliament constituency)
- 2011 Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election
- List of United Kingdom by-elections
References
[edit]- ^ "The Economist". Charles Reynell. 18 March 1995 – via Google Books.
- ^ Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1992-97 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 20 July 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- ^ "(Source)". Archived from the original on 20 July 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2006.
External links
[edit]- 1995 elections in the United Kingdom
- 1995 in England
- 1990s in Greater Manchester
- July 1995 events in the United Kingdom
- By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Greater Manchester constituencies
- Elections in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham
- Elections in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale