2000 Romsey by-election

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2000 Romsey by-election
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  1997 4 May 2000 2001  

Romsey parliamentary seat
Turnout55.4%
 First partySecond party
  Sandra Gidley, September 2009 1 rotated and cropped.jpg
Con
Candidate Sandra Gidley Tim Palmer
Party Liberal Democrats Conservative
Popular vote19,57116,260
Percentage50.56%42.01%
SwingIncrease2.svg21.2%Decrease2.svg4.0%

MP before election

Michael Colvin
Conservative

Subsequent MP

Sandra Gidley
Liberal Democrats

Conservative Member of Parliament Michael Colvin and his wife died in a fire at their home on 24 February 2000. This created a by-election in his constituency of Romsey in Hampshire, England.

Contents

The Conservative Party decided to delay the polling day until 4 May, so that it would come simultaneously with local elections. They selected Tim Palmer, a farmer and Dorset County Councillor, to defend the seat. The Liberal Democrats considered this byelection their best chance of gaining a seat since 1997 and selected a local pharmacist Sandra Gidley (who had been Mayor of Romsey) as their candidate.

Labour carried out minimal campaigning in a constituency in which they had come third for years. This led many observers to assume that the party was expecting, or hoping, that its vote would largely go to the Liberal Democrats in order to help defeat the Conservatives. In the event, the Labour vote collapsed while the Liberal Democrats surged, and they made this the only mainland by-election to result in a change of party control in the entire Parliament. This was the first time the Conservatives had lost a seat in a by-election while in Opposition since the 1965 Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles by-election, and would be the last time the Liberal Democrats gained a constituency from the Conservatives at a by-election until the 2016 Richmond Park by-election.

Results

By-election 2000: Romsey [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Sandra Gidley 19,571 50.6 +21.2
Conservative Tim Palmer16,26042.04.0
Labour Andy Howard1,4513.714.9
UKIP Garry Rankin-Moore9012.31.2
Legalise Cannabis Derrick Large4171.1New
Independent Thomas Lamont1090.3New
Majority3,3118.6–8.0
Turnout 38,70955.4–19.0
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing +8.6

1997 general election result

General election 1997: Romsey
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Michael Colvin 23,834 46.0
Liberal Democrats Mark Cooper15,24929.4
Labour Joanne Ford9,62318.6
UKIP Alan Sked 1,8243.5
Referendum Michael Wigley1,2912.5
Majority8,58516.57
Turnout 51,82176.36
Conservative hold Swing

References

  1. Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1997-2002 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 5 October 2015.