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Constituency of Eastbourne | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 60.7% ( 14.9%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(July 2009) |
The 1990 Eastbourne by-election was a by-election held on 18 October 1990 for the House of Commons constituency of Eastbourne in East Sussex.
The by-election was caused by the death of the town's Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) Ian Gow, who was killed on 30 July 1990 by a bomb placed under his car by the Provisional IRA.
The result was a victory for the Liberal Democrat candidate David Bellotti, who defeated former Conservative MP Richard Hickmet by a majority of 4,550 votes and with more than half the votes cast. The loss came as a shock to many Conservatives who had expected (not least given the circumstances under which the by-election was held, as well as the fact that it had been retained by a majority of more than 16,000 votes in 1987) that they would retain the seat. Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe sent a message to voters saying that the IRA would be "toasting their success". [1]
It was a welcome success for the Liberal Democrats, formed in March 1988, after some disastrous early local and European election showings, as well as dismal showings in opinion polls. It came at a time when Conservative support was slumping and Labour was enjoying a comfortable lead in the opinion polls, largely due to the unpopular introduction of poll tax by the Conservative government. [2]
The Liberal Democrats, whose newly adopted party emblem was a 'bird of liberty', had been compared by Margaret Thatcher in a Conservative party conference speech on 12 October to a "dead parrot". [3] The shock defeat contributed to the end of Thatcher's premiership in November 1990 as Conservative MPs worried if they could hold their seats at a general election if she remained prime minister. [4]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | David Bellotti | 23,415 | 50.8 | +21.1 | |
| Conservative | Richard Hickmet | 18,865 | 41.0 | −18.9 | |
| Labour | Charlotte Atkins | 2,308 | 5.0 | −3.8 | |
| Green | David Aherne | 553 | 1.2 | −0.4 | |
| Liberal | Theresia Williamson | 526 | 1.1 | New | |
| Corrective Party | Lady Whiplash | 216 | 0.5 | New | |
| National Front | John McAuley | 154 | 0.3 | New | |
| Ironside Party | Eric Page | 35 | 0.1 | New | |
| Majority | 4,550 | 9.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 46,072 | 60.7 | −14.9 | ||
| Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | +20.0 | |||
Sir John Major is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. He previously held Cabinet positions under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, his last as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1989 to 1990. Major was Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Huntingdonshire, from 1979 to 2001. Since stepping down as an MP in 2001, Major has focused on writing and his business, sporting, and charity work, and has occasionally commented on political developments in the role of an elder statesman.
The 1979 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the House of Commons. The election was held following the defeat of the Labour government in a no-confidence motion on 28 March 1979, six months before the Parliament was due for dissolution in October 1979.
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David Frank Bellotti was a British Liberal Democrat politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for the Eastbourne constituency from 1990 to 1992.
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Ian Reginald Edward Gow was a British politician and solicitor. As a member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Eastbourne from 1974, until he was assassinated in 1990 by a car bomb planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) outside his home in East Sussex.
Eastbourne is a constituency for the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was created as one of nine in Sussex in 1885, since when it has reduced in geographic size reflecting the growth of its main settlement, Eastbourne. The seat has been represented since 2024 by Josh Babarinde, a Liberal Democrat.
The 2005 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 5 May 2005, to elect 646 members to the House of Commons. The governing Labour Party led by Prime Minister Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, with Blair becoming the second Labour leader after Harold Wilson to form three majority governments. However, its majority fell to 66 seats; the majority it won four years earlier had been of 167 seats. The UK media interpreted the results as an indicator of a breakdown in trust in the government, and especially in Blair.
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The 1990 Conservative Party leadership election was called on 14 November 1990 following the decision of Michael Heseltine, former defence and environment secretary, to challenge Margaret Thatcher, the incumbent Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, for leadership of the Conservative Party.
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The Mid Staffordshire constituency of the United Kingdom Parliament held a by-election on 22 March 1990. The result was the election of Labour candidate Sylvia Heal to succeed the previous Conservative Member of Parliament John Heddle, who had precipitated the by-election by committing suicide.
The modern political history of the United Kingdom (1979–present) began when Margaret Thatcher gained power in 1979, giving rise to 18 years of Conservative government. Victory in the Falklands War (1982) and the government's strong opposition to trade unions helped lead the Conservative Party to another three terms in government. Thatcher initially pursued monetarist policies and went on to privatise many of Britain's nationalised companies such as British Telecom, British Gas Corporation, British Airways and British Steel Corporation. She kept the National Health Service. The controversial "poll tax" to fund local government was unpopular, and the Conservatives removed Thatcher as prime minister in 1990, although Michael Heseltine, the minister who did much to undermine her, did not personally benefit from her being ousted.
A by-election was held for the British House of Commons constituency of Vale of Glamorgan on 4 May 1989 following the death of Conservative MP Sir Raymond Gower.
John Major's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom began on 28 November 1990 when he accepted an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, succeeding Margaret Thatcher, and ended on 2 May 1997 upon his resignation. As prime minister, Major also served simultaneously as First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Leader of the Conservative Party. Major's mild-mannered style and moderate political stance contrasted with that of Thatcher.
A by-election was held in the UK Parliament constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire on 1 August 2019 after Chris Davies, who had held the seat for the Conservatives since the 2015 general election, was unseated by a recall petition. The by-election was won by Jane Dodds of the Liberal Democrats.
