List of United Kingdom by-elections

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This is a list of UK by-elections, with the names of the incumbent and victor and their respective parties. Where seats changed political party at the election, the result is highlighted: red for a Labour gain, blue for a Conservative gain, yellow for a Liberal, SDP or Liberal Democrat gain, orange for a SNP gain, green for a Plaid Cymru gain and grey for any other gain.

1 By-elections
2 Other notable by-elections
3 References

[edit] By-elections

By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
[edit] 54th Parliament (2005 - )
Bromley and Chislehurst	29 June 2006	Eric Forth		Conservative	Bob Neill		Conservative	Death (cancer)
Blaenau Gwent	29 June 2006	Peter Law		Independent	Dai Davies		Independent	Death (cancer)
Dunfermline and West Fife	February 9 2006	Rachel Squire		Labour	Willie Rennie		Liberal Democrats	Death (cancer/stroke)
Livingston	29 September 2005	Robin Cook		Labour	Jim Devine		Labour	Death (heart disease)
Cheadle	14 July 2005	Patsy Calton		Liberal Democrats	Mark Hunter		Liberal Democrats	Death (cancer)
[edit] 53rd Parliament (2001 - 2005)
By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Hartlepool	30 September 2004	Peter Mandelson		Labour	Iain Wright		Labour	Appointment as European Commissioner
Birmingham Hodge Hill	15 July 2004	Terry Davis		Labour	Liam Byrne		Labour	Appointment as Secretary-General of the Council of Europe
Leicester South ¹	15 July 2004	Jim Marshall		Labour	Parmjit Singh Gill		Liberal Democrats	Death (heart attack)
Brent East ²	18 June 2003	Paul Daisley		Labour	Sarah Teather		Liberal Democrats	Death (cancer)
Ogmore	14 February 2002	Sir Raymond Powell		Labour	Huw Irranca-Davies		Labour	Death (asthma attack?)
Ipswich	15 October 2001	Jamie Cann		Labour	Chris Mole		Labour	Death ("serious illness")
¹ Gain not retained at the 2005 UK general election. ² Gain retained at the 2005 UK general election. [edit] 52nd Parliament (1997 - 2001)
By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Falkirk West	21 November 2000	Dennis Canavan		Labour/Independent ¹	Eric Joyce		Labour	Resigned following election to the Scottish Parliament
West Bromwich West	23 November 2000	Betty Boothroyd		Speaker	Adrian Bailey		Labour	Life Peerage
Preston	23 November 2000	Audrey Wise		Labour	Mark Hendrick		Labour	Death (cancer)
Glasgow Anniesland	23 November 2000	Donald Dewar		Labour	John Robertson		Labour	Death (brain hemorrhage after heart surgery)
South Antrim	21 September 2000²	Clifford Forsythe		Ulster Unionist	William McCrea		Democratic Unionist	Death (sudden illness)
Tottenham	22 June 2000	Bernie Grant		Labour	David Lammy		Labour	Death (heart attack)
Romsey	4 May 2000³	Michael Colvin		Conservative	Sandra Gidley		Liberal Democrats	Death (accidental fire)
Ceredigion	3 February 2000	Cynog Dafis		Plaid Cymru	Simon Thomas		Plaid Cymru	Resigned following election to the Welsh Assembly
Kensington and Chelsea	25 November 1999	Alan Clark		Conservative	Michael Portillo		Conservative	Death (cancer)
Wigan	23 September 1999	Roger Stott		Labour	Neil Turner		Labour	Death (long illness)
Hamilton South	24 August 1999	George Robertson		Labour	Bill Tynan		Labour	Life Peerage upon appointment as Secretary-General of NATO
Eddisbury	22 July 1999	Alastair Goodlad		Conservative	Stephen O'Brien		Conservative	Appointment as High Commissioner to Australia
Leeds Central	10 June 1999	Derek Fatchett		Labour	Hilary Benn		Labour	Death (heart attack)
Winchester	20 November 1997	Mark Oaten		Liberal Democrats	Mark Oaten		Liberal Democrats	Void election
Beckenham	20 November 1997	Piers Merchant		Conservative	Jacqui Lait		Conservative	Resignation (Scandal)
Paisley South	6 November 1997	Gordon McMaster		Labour	Douglas Alexander		Labour	Death (suicide)
Uxbridge	31 July 1997	Sir Michael Shersby		Conservative	John Randall		Conservative	Death
¹ Dennis Canavan was elected as a Labour MP from 1974 onwards but in 1999 left the party when he was not selected as a Labour candidate for the Scottish Parliament and instead successfully stood as an Independent. ² Gain not retained at the 2001 UK general election. ³ Gain retained at the 2001 UK general election. [edit] 51st Parliament (1992 - 1997)
By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Wirral South	27 February 1997¹	Barry Porter		Conservative	Ben Chapman		Labour	Death
Barnsley East	12 December 1996	Terry Patchett		Labour	Jeff Ennis		Labour	Death
South East Staffordshire	11 April 1996¹	Sir David Lightbown		Conservative	Brian Jenkins		Labour	Death
Hemsworth	1 February 1996	Derek Enright		Labour	Jon Trickett		Labour	Death
Littleborough and Saddleworth	27 July 1995²	Geoffrey Dickens		Conservative	Chris Davies		Liberal Democrats	Death
North Down	15 June 1995¹	Sir James Kilfedder		Ulster Popular Unionist	Robert McCartney		UK Unionist	Death
Perth and Kinross	25 May 1995¹	Sir Nicholas Fairbairn		Conservative	Roseanna Cunningham		Scottish National Party	Death
Islwyn	16 February 1995	Neil Kinnock		Labour	Don Touhig		Labour	Appointment as European Commissioner
Dudley West	15 December 1994¹	John Blackburn		Conservative	Ian Pearson		Labour	Death
Monklands East	30 June 1994	John Smith		Labour	Helen Liddell		Labour	Death
Newham North East	9 June 1994	Ron Leighton		Labour	Stephen Timms		Labour	Death
Eastleigh	9 June 1994¹	Stephen Milligan		Conservative	David Chidgey		Liberal Democrats	Death (misadventure)
Dagenham	9 June 1994	Bryan Gould		Labour	Judith Church		Labour	Appointment as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Waikato, New Zealand
Bradford South	9 June 1994	Bob Cryer		Labour	Gerry Sutcliffe		Labour	Death (road accident)
Barking	9 June 1994	Jo Richardson		Labour	Margaret Hodge		Labour	Death
Rotherham	5 May 1994	Jimmy Boyce		Labour	Denis MacShane		Labour	Death
Christchurch	29 July 1993³	Sir Robert Adley		Conservative	Diana Maddock		Liberal Democrats	Death
Newbury	6 May 1993¹	Judith Chaplin		Conservative	David Rendel		Liberal Democrats	Death
¹ - Gain retained at the 1997 UK general election. ² - Littleborough and Saddleworth was abolished in boundary changes taking effect from 1997. Davies contested the successor seat of Oldham East and Saddleworth for the Liberal Democrats but lost to Labour. ³ - Gain not retained at the 1997 UK general election. [edit] 50th Parliament (1987 - 1992)
By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Langbaurgh	7 November 1991¹	Richard Holt		Conservative	Ashok Kumar		Labour	Death
Kincardine and Deeside	7 November 1991¹	Sir Alick Buchanan-Smith		Conservative	Nicol Stephen		Liberal Democrats	Death
Hemsworth	7 November 1991	George Buckley		Labour	Derek Enright		Labour	Death
Liverpool Walton	4 July 1991	Eric Heffer		Labour	Peter Kilfoyle		Labour	Death
Monmouth	16 May 1991¹	Sir John Stradling Thomas		Conservative	Huw Edwards		Labour	Death
Neath	4 April 1991	Donald Coleman		Labour	Peter Hain		Labour	Death
Ribble Valley	7 March 1991¹	David Waddington		Conservative	Michael Carr		Liberal Democrats	Life Peerage on appointment as Leader of the House of Lords
Paisley South	29 November 1990	Norman Buchan		Labour	Gordon McMaster		Labour	Death
Paisley North	29 November 1990	Allen Adams		Labour	Irene Adams		Labour	Death
Bradford North	8 November 1990	Pat Wall		Labour	Terry Rooney		Labour	Death
Bootle	8 November 1990	Mike Carr		Labour	Joseph Benton		Labour	Death
Eastbourne	18 October 1990¹	Ian Gow		Conservative	David Bellotti		Liberal Democrats	Death (killed by IRA)
Knowsley South	27 September 1990	Sean Hughes		Labour	Edward O'Hara		Labour	Death
Bootle	24 May 1990	Allan Roberts		Labour	Mike Carr		Labour	Death
Upper Bann	17 May 1990	Harold McCusker		Ulster Unionist	David Trimble		Ulster Unionist	Death
Mid Staffordshire	22 March 1990¹	John Heddle		Conservative	Sylvia Heal		Labour	Death (suicide)
Vauxhall	15 June 1989	Stuart Holland		Labour	Kate Hoey		Labour	Appointment to the European University Institute, Florence
Glasgow Central	15 June 1989	Robert McTaggart		Labour	Michael Watson		Labour	Death
Vale of Glamorgan	4 May 1989¹	Sir Raymond Gower		Conservative	John Smith		Labour	Death
Richmond	23 February 1989	Leon Brittan		Conservative	William Hague		Conservative	Appointment as European Commissioner
Pontypridd	23 February 1989	Brynmor John		Labour	Kim Howells		Labour	Death
Epping Forest	15 December 1988	Sir John Biggs-Davison		Conservative	Steven Norris		Conservative	Death
Glasgow Govan	10 November 1988¹	Bruce Millan		Labour	Jim Sillars		Scottish National Party	Appointment to European Commission
Kensington	14 July 1988	Sir Brandon Rhys Williams, Bt.		Conservative	Dudley Fishburn		Conservative	Death
¹ - Gain not retained at the 1992 UK general election. [edit] 49th Parliament (1983 - 1987)
By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Truro	12 March 1987	David Penhaligon		Liberal	Matthew Taylor		Liberal	Death (road accident)
Greenwich	26 February 1987¹	Guy Barnett		Labour	Rosie Barnes		Social Democrat	Death
Knowsley North	13 November 1986	Robert Kilroy-Silk		Labour	George Howarth		Labour	New BBC TV presenter career
Newcastle-under-Lyme	17 July 1986	John Golding		Labour	Llinos Golding		Labour	Appointment as General Secretary of the National Communications Union
Ryedale	8 May 1986²	John Spence		Conservative	Elizabeth Shields		Liberal	Death
West Derbyshire	8 May 1986	Matthew Parris		Conservative	Patrick McLoughlin		Conservative	Appointment as presenter of LWT program 'Weekend World'
Fulham	10 April 1986²	Martin Stevens		Conservative	Nick Raynsford		Labour	Death
Upper Bann	23 January 1986	Harold McCusker		Ulster Unionist	Harold McCusker		Ulster Unionist	Seeks re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Strangford	23 January 1986¹	John Taylor		Ulster Unionist	John Taylor		Ulster Unionist	Seeks re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Newry & Armagh	23 January 1986¹	James Nicholson		Ulster Unionist	Seamus Mallon		Social Democratic & Labour	Seeks re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
North Antrim	23 January 1986	Ian Paisley		Democratic Unionist	Ian Paisley		Democratic Unionist	Seeks re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
East Antrim	23 January 1986	Roy Beggs		Ulster Unionist	Roy Beggs		Ulster Unionist	Seeks re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
South Antrim	23 January 1986	Clifford Forsythe		Ulster Unionist	Clifford Forsythe		Ulster Unionist	Seeks re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Belfast North	23 January 1986	Cecil Walker		Ulster Unionist	Cecil Walker		Ulster Unionist	Seeks re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Belfast East	23 January 1986	Peter Robinson		Democratic Unionist	Peter Robinson		Democratic Unionist	Seeks re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Belfast South	23 January 1986	Martin Smyth		Ulster Unionist	Martin Smyth		Ulster Unionist	Seeks re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
North Down	23 January 1986	James Kilfedder		Ulster Popular Unionist	James Kilfedder		Ulster Popular Unionist	Seeks re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
South Down	23 January 1986³	Enoch Powell		Ulster Unionist	Enoch Powell		Ulster Unionist	Seeks re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Fermanagh & South Tyrone	23 January 1986	Ken Maginnis		Ulster Unionist	Ken Maginnis		Ulster Unionist	Seeks re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Lagan Valley	23 January 1986	James Molyneaux		Ulster Unionist	James Molyneaux		Ulster Unionist	Seeks re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
East Londonderry	23 January 1986	William Ross		Ulster Unionist	William Ross		Ulster Unionist	Seeks re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Mid Ulster	23 January 1986	William McCrea		Democratic Unionist	William McCrea		Democratic Unionist	Seeks re-election in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Tyne Bridge	5 December 1985	Harry Cowans		Labour	David Clelland		Labour	Death
Brecon and Radnor	4 July 1985¹	Tom Hooson		Conservative	Richard Livsey		Liberal	Death
Enfield Southgate	13 December 1984	Sir Anthony Berry		Conservative	Michael Portillo		Conservative	Death (killed by IRA)
Portsmouth South	14 June 1984²	Bonner Pink		Conservative	Michael Hancock		Social Democrat	Death
South West Surrey	3 May 1984	Viscount Macmillan of Ovenden		Conservative	Virginia Bottomley		Conservative	Death
Stafford	3 May 1984	Sir Hugh Fraser		Conservative	Bill Cash		Conservative	Death
Cynon Valley	3 May 1984	Ioan Evans		Labour	Ann Clwyd		Labour	Death
Chesterfield	1 March 1984	Eric Varley		Labour	Tony Benn		Labour	Appointment as Chairman of Coalite PLC
Penrith and the Border	28 July 1983	William Whitelaw		Conservative	David Maclean		Conservative	Hereditary Peerage on appointment as Leader of the House of Lords
¹ - Gain retained at the 1987 UK general election. ² - Gain not retained at the 1987 UK general election. ³ - Enoch Powell retained the seat for the Ulster Unionists in the by-election but lost it to the Social Democratic and Labour Party in the 1987 General Election. [edit] 48th Parliament (1979 - 1983)
By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Darlington	24 March 1983¹	Edward Fletcher		Labour	Oswald O'Brien		Labour	Death
Bermondsey	24 February 1983²	Robert Mellish		Labour/Ind Labour	Simon Hughes		Liberal	Resignation (dispute with party)
Glasgow Queens Park	2 December 1982	Frank McElhone		Labour	Helen McElhone		Labour	Death
Southwark Peckham	28 October 1982	Harry Lamborn		Labour	Harriet Harman		Labour	Death
Birmingham Northfield	28 October 1982³	Jocelyn Cadbury		Conservative	John Spellar		Labour	Death (suicide)
Gower	16 September 1982	Ifor Davies		Labour	Gareth Wardell		Labour	Death
Coatbridge and Airdrie	24 June 1982	James Dempsey		Labour	Thomas Clarke		Labour	Death
Merton, Mitcham and Morden	3 June 1982⁴	Bruce Douglas-Mann		Labour/Ind SDP	Angela Rumbold		Conservative	Seeks re-election upon change of party allegiance
Beaconsfield	27 May 1982	Sir Ronald Bell		Conservative	Tim Smith		Conservative	Death
Glasgow Hillhead	25 March 1982²	Sir Thomas Galbraith		Conservative	Roy Jenkins		Social Democrat	Death
Belfast South	4 March 1982	Robert Bradford		Ulster Unionist	Martin Smyth		Ulster Unionist	Death (killed by IRA)
Crosby	26 November 1981³	Sir Graham Page		Conservative	Shirley Williams		Social Democrat	Death
Croydon North West	22 October 1981³	Robert Taylor		Conservative	Bill Pitt		Liberal	Death
Fermanagh & South Tyrone	20 August 1981⁵	Bobby Sands		Anti H-Block	Owen Carron		Anti H-Block	Death (hunger strike)
Warrington	16 July 1981	Sir Thomas Williams		Labour	Douglas Hoyle		Labour	Appointment as High Court Judge
Fermanagh & South Tyrone	9 April 1981⁵	Frank Maguire		Independent Republican	Bobby Sands		Anti H-Block	Death
Glasgow Central	26 June 1980	Thomas McMillan		Labour	Robert McTaggart		Labour	Death
Southend East	13 March 1980²	Sir Stephen McAdden		Conservative	Teddy Taylor		Conservative	Death
South West Hertfordshire	13 December 1979	Geoffrey Dodsworth		Conservative	Richard Page		Conservative	Resignation on medical advice
Manchester Central	27 September 1979	Harold Lever		Labour	Robert Litherland		Labour	Life Peerage
¹ - Oswald O'Brien retained the seat for Labour in the by-election but lost it to the Conservatives in the 1983 General Election only 11 weeks later. ² - Gain retained at the 1983 UK general election. ³ - Gain not retained at the 1983 UK general election. ⁴ - Mitcham and Morden was the last time an incumbent government gained a seat from the opposition in a by-election. ⁵ - 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.

[edit] Other notable by-elections

A selection of notable by-elections are listed:

Oldham by-election, 1899: Winston Churchill's first candidacy (he lost).

By-elections in the United Kingdom
British Parliament: 1885 - 1900 • 1900 - 1918 • 1918 - 1931 • 1931 - 1950 • 1950 - 1979 • 1979 - present
Scottish Parliament • Welsh Assembly