2000 Tottenham by-election

2000 Tottenham by-election

←  1997 22 June 2000 2001  →
The Tottenham seat in the House of Commons Triggered by death of incumbent
Turnout	34.4% (19.2%)
First party Second party   Candidate David Lammy Duncan Hames Party Labour Liberal Democrats Popular vote 8,785 3,139 Percentage 53.5% 19.1% Swing 15.8% 7.3%   Third party Fourth party   SA Candidate Jane Ellison Weyman Bennett Party Conservative Socialist Alliance Popular vote 2,634 885 Percentage 16.0% 5.4% Swing 0.3% New
MP before election Bernie Grant Labour Subsequent MP David Lammy Labour

A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Tottenham was held on 22 June 2000, following the death of incumbent Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) Bernie Grant. It was won by Labour candidate David Lammy, who comfortably retained the seat for the party.

Lammy would go on to become a prominent Labour figure, holding several senior ministerial positions including Deputy Prime Minister.

Background and campaign

Bernie Grant, who had served as MP for Tottenham since 1987, died on 8 April 2000, triggering a by-election in his consittuency. Grant was one of the first four black MPs and the constituency was one of the centres of the London Afro-Caribbean community. However, Grant's widow Sharon (who was white) declared her intention to seek selection and this split opinion within the local Labour Party. Both Sharon and Bernie Grant had been on the left wing of the party whereas the leading black contender for the nomination, David Lammy, was a supporter of centrist Prime Minister Tony Blair. Following a close-fought selection battle, Lammy was chosen. During the campaign, Sharon Grant made a public show of supporting his election campaign in order not to allow disunity in the Labour Party.

Polling day in the by-election was on 22 June, when Lammy comfortably retained the seat for Labour on a low turnout. Neither of the other main party candidates was able to mount a credible challenge in a seat where Labour was so strongly ahead, with Liberal Democrat candidate and future Chippenham MP Duncan Hames finishing second, and Conservative candidate and future Battersea MP Jane Ellison coming third. All three candidates from the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties in this by-election would go on to become MPs.

Result

2000 Tottenham by-election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Lammy	8,785	53.5	–15.8
	Liberal Democrats	Duncan Hames	3,139	19.1	+7.3
	Conservative	Jane Ellison	2,634	16.0	+0.3
	Socialist Alliance	Weyman Bennett	885	5.4	New
	Green	Peter Budge	606	3.7	+0.9
	Reform 2000	Erol Basarik	177	1.1	New
	UKIP	Ashwin Tanna	136	0.8	New
	Independent	Dorian L.D. de Braâm	55	0.3	New
Majority			5,646	34.4	–19.2
Turnout			16,417	25.4	–31.5
Registered electors			64,554
	Labour hold		Swing	–12.0

General Election result, 1997

General election 1997: Tottenham ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bernie Grant	26,121	69.3	+12.8
	Conservative	Andrew R. Scantlebury	5,921	15.7	–14.1
	Liberal Democrats	Neil Hughes	4,064	10.8	–0.6
	Green	Peter Budge	1,059	2.8	+0.8
	ProLife Alliance	Leelan L.E. Tay	210	0.5	New
	Workers Revolutionary	Christopher F. Anglin	181	0.5	New
	Socialist Equality	Tania Kent	148	0.4	New
Majority			20,200	53.6	+26.9
Turnout			37,704	56.9	–8.7
Registered electors			66,251
	Labour hold		Swing	+13.4

References

1. Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1997–2002 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
2. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.