2006 Bromley and Chislehurst by-election

2006 Bromley and Chislehurst by-election

←  2005 29 June 2006 2010  →
Bromley and Chislehurst parliamentary seat
Turnout	40.2%
First party Second party   LD Candidate Bob Neill Ben Abbotts Party Conservative Liberal Democrats Popular vote 11,621 10,988 Percentage 40.0% 37.8% Swing 11.1% 17.5%   Third party Fourth party   Candidate Nigel Farage Rachel Reeves Party UKIP Labour Popular vote 2,347 1,925 Percentage 8.1% 6.6% Swing 4.9% 15.6%
MP before election Eric Forth Conservative Subsequent MP Bob Neill Conservative

A by-election was held in the UK parliament constituency of Bromley and Chislehurst in London, following the death of Conservative Member of Parliament Eric Forth on 17 May 2006. ^[1] The writ for the electing of a new member was issued on 6 June for a polling day of 29 June 2006, the same day as the Blaenau Gwent by-elections. ^[2] The Conservatives held the seat but with their majority much reduced by the Liberal Democrats.

Labour, who stood future Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, was pushed into fourth place by Nigel Farage of the UK Independence Party. This was only the second time Labour had fallen to fourth place in an English by-election since World War II, the 1989 Richmond (Yorks) by-election being the other occasion. Labour would later drop to fifth place at the 2008 Henley by-election.

Candidates

On 3 June 2006, the local Conservative Association selected Bob Neill, the London Assembly Member for Bexley and Bromley and leader of the Conservative group in the Assembly. ^[2] The Liberal Democrats selected London Borough of Bromley councillor Ben Abbotts. He was the Liberal Democrat environment spokesman on Bromley Council. ^[3] Labour chose Rachel Reeves, runner-up in 2005, to stand once again. ^[2] The Green Party selected Ann Garrett as its candidate. Garrett stood as a Green Party candidate in the 2005 general election and the 2004 London Assembly elections. ^[4] The UK Independence Party selected Nigel Farage MEP, who represents South East England in the European Parliament. ^[5] The Official Monster Raving Loony Party selected John Cartwright. ^[6]

Two independent candidates were validly nominated: John Hemming-Clark and Nick Hadziannis. The English Democrats selected Steven Uncles ^[7] and candidates from the Money Reform Party and the National Front also ran. The Money Reform Party was a minor political party.

As per the Senior Electoral Officer of Bromley Council, the electorate for this by-election was 72,206, an increase of 1.50% from the 2005 election.

Result

Bromley and Chislehurst by-election, 2006 ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bob Neill	11,621	40.0	–11.1
	Liberal Democrats	Ben Abbotts	10,988	37.8	+17.5
	UKIP	Nigel Farage	2,347	8.1	+4.9
	Labour	Rachel Reeves	1,925	6.6	–15.6
	Green	Ann Garrett	811	2.8	–0.4
	National Front	Paul Winnett	476	1.6	New
	Independent	John Hemming-Clark	442	1.5	New
	English Democrat	Steven Uncles	212	0.7	New
	Monster Raving Loony	John Cartwright	132	0.5	New
	Independent	Nick Hadziannis	65	0.2	New
	Money Reform	Anne Belsey	33	0.1	New
Majority			633	2.2	–26.7
Turnout			29,012	40.2	–24.6
Registered electors			71,798
	Conservative hold		Swing	–13.8

Previous result

General election 2005: Bromley and Chislehurst ^{[9] [10]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Eric Forth	23,583	51.1	+1.6
	Labour	Rachel Reeves	10,241	22.2	–6.4
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Brooks	9,368	20.3	+1.4
	UKIP	David Hooper	1,475	3.2	+0.3
	Green	Ann Garrett	1,470	3.2	New
Majority			13,342	28.9	+8.0
Turnout			46,137	64.8	+0.5
Registered electors			71,137
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.0

See also

• Bromley and Chislehurst constituency
• Lists of United Kingdom by-elections
• London Borough of Bromley

References

1. "Tributes paid to Tory Eric Forth". BBC News. 18 May 2006. Retrieved 18 May 2006.
2. "Conservatives nominate Bob Neill for the Bromley and Chislehurst by-election". BBC. 3 June 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2006.
3. "Lib Dem Choice for the Bromley & Chislehurst by-election". Bromley Liberal Democrats. 30 May 2006. Archived from the original on 1 October 2006. Retrieved 31 May 2006.
4. "Bromley Greens select candidate for Bromley and Chislehurst by-election". Bromley Green Party. 14 May 2006. Archived from the original on 23 March 2007. Retrieved 22 June 2006.
5. "UKIP announces Nigel Farage MEP to contest by-election". UKIP Bromley & Chislehurst. 3 June 2006. Archived from the original on 22 June 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2006.
6. "BROMLEY & CHISLEHURST - Vote for JOHN CARTWRIGHT, Vote for the Official Monster Raving Loony Party". Croydon Official Monster Raving Loony Party. Archived from the original on 2 March 2006. Retrieved 12 June 2006.
7. "The English Democrats announce Bromley and Chislehurst Candidate". 8 June 2006. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2006.
8. Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 2005-2010 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 27 December 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
9. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
10. "Election 2005 | Results | Bromley & Chislehurst". BBC News. 6 May 2005. Retrieved 30 June 2017.

External links

• Campaign literature from the by-election
• Bromley & Chislehurst Conservatives Archived 22 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine
• Ben Abbotts & Bromley Liberal Democrats
• Rachel Reeves - Labour Party ^{[ dead link ]}
• Bromley Green Party
• John Hemming-Clark
• Paul Winnett - National Front
• Nick Hadziannis ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
• Nigel Farage & UKIP Bromley & Chislehurst
• Steven Uncles - English Democrats
• Anne Belsey - Money Reform Party