1999 Eddisbury by-election
{{Short description|UK parliamentary by-election}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2012}}
{{row hover highlight}}
{{infobox election
| election_name = 1999 Eddisbury by-election
| country = United Kingdom
| type = parliamentary
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1997 United Kingdom general election
| previous_year = 1997
| next_election = 2001 United Kingdom general election
| next_year = 2001
| election_date = 22 July 1999
| candidate1 = Stephen O'Brien
| image1 = 150x150px
| party1 = Conservative Party (UK)
| popular_vote1 = 15,465
| percentage1 = 44.8%
| swing1 = {{increase}}2.3pp
| candidate2 = Margaret Hanson
| image2 =
| party2 = Labour Party (UK)
| popular_vote2 = 13,859
| percentage2 = 40.2%
| swing2 = {{increase}}0.1pp
| candidate3 = Paul Roberts
| image3 =
| party3 = Liberal Democrats (UK)
| popular_vote3 = 4,757
| percentage3 = 13.8%
| swing3 = {{increase}}0.6pp
| title = MP
| before_election = Alastair Goodlad
| after_election = Stephen O'Brien
| before_party = Conservative Party (UK)
| after_party = Conservative Party (UK)
}}
The 1999 Eddisbury by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 22 July 1999 for the British House of Commons constituency of Eddisbury in Cheshire.
On 25 May 1999 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office announced the appointment of Eddisbury's Member of Parliament (MP), the Rt. Hon. Sir Alastair Goodlad, as High Commissioner to the Commonwealth of Australia. This created a vacancy in the seat which Sir Alastair had retained as the Conservative candidate in the 1997 general election. Goodlad resigned from the House of Commons by accepting the office of Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern on 28 June 1999 to formally vacate his seat.
The 1999 British cabinet reshuffle was delayed by a week following Labour's unexpected success in the by-election.{{Cite news |last=Ward |first=Lucy |last2= |first2=|date=1999-07-17 |title=Mowlam key figure in reshuffle |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/1999/jul/17/reshuffle1999.labour |access-date=2023-08-12 |issn=0261-3077}}
Candidates
The Conservatives selected Stephen O'Brien, a former SDP member who lived in Chichester, to defend the seat. Labour nominated Margaret Hanson, wife of David Hanson (Labour MP for Delyn), who had also fought the seat at the 1997 election. Labour had been only just over 1,000 votes behind the Conservatives in 1997 and ran an energetic campaign, raising the issue of fox hunting which she pledged to ban. Prime Minister Tony Blair went to the constituency to campaign for her, an unusual move as it is convention for incumbent Prime Ministers not to visit byelection campaigns.
Polling day was 22 July and the result was a virtual carbon copy of that in 1997; each party had fought to a standstill.
Opinion polling
| class="wikitable sortable mw-datatable" style="text-align:center;font-size:90%;line-height:14px;"
! rowspan="2" |Date(s) ! rowspan="2" |Pollster ! rowspan="2" |Client ! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="number"|Sample ! class="unsortable" style="width:50px;"|Con ! class="unsortable" style="width:50px;"|Lab ! class="unsortable" style="width:50px;"|Lib Dem ! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" style="width:50px;"|Others ! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="number"|Lead | |
| data-sort-type="number" style="background:{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}};"|
! data-sort-type="number" style="background:{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}};"| ! data-sort-type="number" style="background:{{party color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}};"| | |
|---|---|
| style="background:#E9E9E9;"
|{{opdrts | 22|Jul|1999|year}}
|colspan=2|1999 by-election |– |style="background:#CCEBFF;"|44.8% |40.2% |13.8% |1.2% |style="background:{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}};color:#FFFFFF;"|4.6% |
| {{opdrts | 13|Jul|1999|year}}
|[https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/eddisbury-election-hunting-wild-mammals-dogs Ipsos] |N/A |500 |38% |style="background:#FFCCDA;"|42% |17% |3% |style="background:{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}};color:#FFFFFF;"|4% |
| style="background:#E9E9E9;"
|{{opdrts | 1|May|1997|year}}
|colspan=2|1997 general election |– |style="background:#CCEBFF;"|42.5% |40.1% |13.2% |4.2% |style="background:{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}};color:#FFFFFF;"|2.4% |
Results
{{Election box begin | title=Eddisbury by-election, 1999{{cite web|url=http://www.election.demon.co.uk/by2001.html|title=Results of Byelections in the 1997–2001 Parliament|last=Boothroyd|first=David|access-date=6 October 2024|website=United Kingdom Election Results|archive-date=21 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200121105156/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/by1997.html|url-status=dead}}}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
|party = Conservative Party (UK)
|candidate = Stephen O'Brien
|votes = 15,465
|percentage = 44.8
|change = +2.3
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Labour Party (UK)
|candidate = Margaret Hanson
|votes = 13,859
|percentage = 40.2
|change = +0.1
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
|candidate = Paul Roberts
|votes = 4,757
|percentage = 13.8
|change = +0.6
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Official Monster Raving Loony Party
|candidate = Alan Hope
|votes = 238
|percentage = 0.7
|change = New
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Independent
|candidate = Roger Everest
|votes = 98
|percentage = 0.3
|change = New
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Natural Law Party
|candidate = Dinah Grice
|votes = 80
|percentage = 0.2
|change = New
}}
{{Election box majority|
|votes = 1,606
|percentage = 4.6
|change = +2.2
}}
{{Election box turnout|
|votes = 34,497
|percentage = 51.4
|change = -24.4
}}
{{Election box hold with party link|
|winner = Conservative Party (UK)
|swing =
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin | title=General election 1997: Eddisbury}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
|party = Conservative Party (UK)
|candidate = Alastair Goodlad
|votes = 21,027
|percentage = 42.5
|change =
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Labour Party (UK)
|candidate = Margaret Hanson
|votes = 19,842
|percentage = 40.1
|change =
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
|candidate = David Reaper
|votes = 6,540
|percentage = 13.2
|change =
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Referendum Party
|candidate = Norine Napier
|votes = 2,041
|percentage = 4.2
|change =
}}
{{Election box majority|
|votes = 1,185
|percentage = 2.4
|change =
}}
{{Election box turnout|
|votes = 49,450
|percentage = 75.8
|change =
}}
{{Election box hold with party link|
|winner = Conservative Party (UK)
|swing =
}}
{{Election box end}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090821055328/http://www.by-elections.co.uk/eddisbury99.html British Parliamentary By Elections: Campaign literature from the by-election]
{{By-elections to the 52nd UK Parliament}}
Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Cheshire constituencies