2011 Leicester South by-election

Last updated

2011 Leicester South by-election
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
←  2010 5 May 2011 2015  →
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Jon Ashworth MP.jpg No image wide.svg Official portrait of Jane Hunt MP crop 2.jpg
Candidate Jonathan Ashworth Zuffar Haq Jane Hunt
Party Labour Liberal Democrats Conservative
Popular vote19,7717,6935,169
Percentage57.8%22.5%15.1%
SwingIncrease2.svg12.2%Decrease2.svg4.4%Decrease2.svg6.3%
MP before election

Peter Soulsby
Labour

Subsequent MP

Jonathan Ashworth
Labour

On 5 May 2011, a by-election was held for the British House of Commons constituency of Leicester South. It was prompted by the resignation of Sir Peter Soulsby of the Labour Party, who stood down from Parliament to contest the election for Mayor of Leicester. Soulsby was appointed Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead on 1 April 2011, and the writ for a new election was issued on 5 April. The election was won by Labour Party candidate Jonathan Ashworth.

Contents

All registered Parliamentary electors (i.e. British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens living in the UK and British citizens living overseas [1] ) who were aged 18 or over on 5 May 2011 were entitled to vote in the by-election. The deadline for voters to register to vote in the by-election was midnight on Thursday 14 April 2011. However, those who qualified as an anonymous elector had until midnight on Tuesday 26 April 2011 to register to vote. [2]

Background

Leicester South was very narrowly won by the Conservatives in 1983, and regained by Labour in the 1987 general election. Following the death of Labour MP Jim Marshall, a by-election was held in July 2004 at which the Liberal Democrats gained the seat. Peter Soulsby regained the seat for Labour at the general election in May 2005; he increased his majority at the 2010 general election.

As a former Leader of Leicester City Council, Soulsby put his name forward for selection as the Labour Party candidate for the directly elected Mayoralty of Leicester after the city council voted to adopt a new leadership structure. In standing for selection he indicated that he would vacate his Parliamentary seat if selected. [3] When Soulsby won the selection he immediately announced that he would indeed resign his seat. [4] On 1 April 2011 the Chancellor of the Exchequer appointed Soulsby as Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, formally vacating the seat. [5] Labour chief whip Rosie Winterton moved the motion on 5 April to issue a writ for a new election.

Candidates

Leicester City Council confirmed the list of candidates on 14 April 2011. [6] With only five candidates, the poll had the shortest by-election ballot paper since the 2005 Cheadle by-election.

There was wide interest in the Labour candidate selection.[ citation needed ] One local councillor, Rory Palmer, entered the contest but—having accepted the offer of becoming Soulsby's deputy—subsequently withdrew. [7] The official shortlist of five candidates was confirmed on 18 March and included three Leicester city councillors, Patrick Kitterick (who was also Chair of Leicester South Constituency Labour Party), Mian Mayat and Neil Clayton, along with Jonathan Ashworth, a former advisor to Gordon Brown and the then Head of Party Relations, and Josephine Channer, a councillor in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. [8] On 19 March local Labour Party members selected Jon Ashworth, [9] who won 106 votes out of 153 cast on the first ballot. [10]

Former Liberal Democrat MP for the constituency Parmjit Singh Gill was initially selected as that party's candidate on 18 March. [11] On 23 March he withdrew from the candidacy, saying that he wanted to concentrate on his position as a Leicester City Councillor; he was immediately replaced as candidate by Zuffar Haq. [12]

On 15 March 2011, UKIP selected Abhijit Pandya, a former Leicester South resident and alumnus of the University of Leicester, as its candidate. [13]

On 26 March the Conservatives selected Jane Hunt as their candidate. She had contested the Leicester East constituency at the General Election. [14]

Result

Labour retained the seat with an increased majority.

ElectionPolitical resultCandidatePartyVotes%±%
By-election, 2011 [17]
Electorate: 75,916
Turnout: 34,180 (45.0%) −3.0		 Labour hold
Majority: 12,078 (35.3%) +16.6
Swing: +8.4% from Lib Dem to Lab 		Jonathan Ashworth Labour 19,77157.8+12.2
Zuffar Haq Liberal Democrats 7,69322.5-4.4
Jane Hunt Conservative 5,16915.1-6.3
Abhijit Pandya UKIP 9942.9+1.4
Howling Laud Hope Monster Raving Loony 5531.6New
General Election 2010 [18]
Electorate: 75,916
Turnout: 47,124 (61.1%) +3.4		 Labour hold
Majority: 8,808 (18.7%)
Swing: +5.0% from Lib Dem to Lab 		Peter Soulsby Labour 21,47945.6+6.2
Parmjit Singh Gill Liberal Democrats 12,67126.9-3.7
Ross Grant Conservative 10,06621.4+3.6
Adrian Waudby BNP 1,4183.0New
Dave Dixey Green 7701.6New
Christopher Lucas UKIP 7201.5New

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Leicester South by-election</span> United Kingdom Parliament by-election

A by-election was held for the United Kingdom Parliament seat of Leicester South on 15 July 2004. It was triggered by the death of Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) Jim Marshall, who died on 27 May 2004, shortly before the local and European elections in June. The by-election was won by Parmjit Singh Gill of the Liberal Democrats, over-turning a Labour majority of 13,243 votes at the 2001 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Soulsby</span> British Labour politician and Mayor of Leicester

Sir Peter Alfred Soulsby is a British Labour Party politician serving as Mayor of Leicester since 2011. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester South from 2005 until he resigned his seat in April 2011, in order to contest the new post of mayor. He served as Leader of Leicester City Council from 1981 to 1994 and from 1996 to 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parmjit Singh Gill</span> British Liberal Democrat politician

Parmjit Singh Gill is a British Liberal Democrat politician. As Member of Parliament for Leicester South from July 2004 to May 2005, he was the first ethnic-minority Liberal Democrat MP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leicester South (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1974 onwards

Leicester South is a constituency, recreated in 1974, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2024 by Shockat Adam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harborough, Oadby and Wigston (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885 onwards

Harborough, Oadby and Wigston is a constituency covering the south east of Leicestershire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Neil O'Brien of the Conservative Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leicester East (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1974 onwards

Leicester East is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since July 2024 by Shivani Raja of the Conservative Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claudia Webbe</span> British politician (born 1965)

Claudia Naomi Webbe is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester East from 2019 to 2024. Elected to Parliament as a Labour MP in 2019, she sat as an Independent from 2021 until she lost her seat at the 2024 General Election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Henley by-election</span>

The 2008 Henley by-election to elect a member of the House of Commons for the constituency of Henley in Oxfordshire was held on 26 June 2008. It followed the election of the previous incumbent Boris Johnson as Mayor of London in May 2008. In order to resign from being an MP, Johnson accepted the post of Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead on 4 June 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Ashworth</span> British politician

Jonathan Michael Graham Ashworth is a British former Labour and Co-op politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester South from 2011 to 2024. He had served as Shadow Paymaster General from September 2023. Having lost his seat at the 2024 general election, he was appointed chief executive of the Labour Together thinktank.

The 2011 Inverclyde by-election was held for the UK House of Commons constituency of Inverclyde on 30 June 2011. It was triggered by the death of the incumbent Labour MP, David Cairns on 9 May 2011 of acute pancreatitis.

On 15 November 2012, a by-election was held for the UK House of Commons constituency of Corby. The election was held on the same day as by-elections in Cardiff South and Penarth and Manchester Central, the first direct election for the post of Mayor of Bristol, and the first Police and Crime Commissioner elections. Andy Sawford, the Labour Party candidate, won with 48% of the vote. The Conservatives' and Liberal Democrats' vote dropped significantly and UKIP came third with their highest-ever vote in a parliamentary by-election to that date.

On 5 May 2016, a by-election was held in the UK Parliamentary constituency of Ogmore. It was triggered by the resignation of the incumbent Huw Irranca-Davies following his decision to contest the coterminous Ogmore constituency in the 2016 Welsh Assembly election.

On 20 October 2016, a by-election was held in the UK parliamentary constituency of Witney. It took place on the same day as the Batley and Spen by-election. They were the fifth and sixth by-elections of the 56th UK Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Copeland by-election</span>

A by-election took place in the British parliamentary constituency of Copeland on 23 February 2017, following the resignation of Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Jamie Reed. Conservative candidate Trudy Harrison gained the seat from Labour, the first gain for a governing party in a by-election since 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Manchester Gorton by-election</span>

A by-election for the House of Commons constituency of Manchester Gorton was scheduled to take place on 4 May 2017, following the death of the sitting Labour Member of Parliament (MP), Sir Gerald Kaufman. It was cancelled on 20 April following the announcement of the 2017 general election. At the general election in June, most of the candidates who were due to stand in the by-election contested the seat, and the Labour candidate, Afzal Khan, retained the seat for his party with a large majority.

A by-election was held in the UK Parliament constituency of Lewisham East on 14 June 2018, following the resignation of Labour MP Heidi Alexander. It was the second by-election held during the 57th UK Parliament, which was elected in June 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigel Porter</span> British politician

Nigel Carl Porter is a Liberal Democrat politician in the City of Leicester. He served as the Leader of the Opposition on the Leicester City Council from 2019 to 2023, and has been a ward councillor for Aylestone since 2004.

The 2021 Airdrie and Shotts by-election was held in the UK parliament constituency of Airdrie and Shotts following the resignation of the sitting member (MP), Neil Gray, to run for the corresponding seat in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. This was necessitated by Scottish National Party (SNP) rules banning its members from sitting as an MSP and an MP at the same time. It took place on 13 May 2021, a week after the Scottish Parliament elections, to reduce COVID-19 transmission risk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Leicester City Council election</span>

The 2023 Leicester City Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect all 54 members of Leicester City Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections, and the election for the directly elected Mayor of Leicester.

References

  1. ↑ "Local elections and Referendum" (PDF). Electoral Commission . 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2011.)
  2. ↑ The deadline for the receipt and determination of anonymous electoral registration applications is the same as the publication date of the notice of alteration to the Electoral Register (i.e. the fifth working day before election day).
  3. ↑ Troughton, Adrian (17 January 2011). "Leicester MP Sir Peter Soulsby begins his bid to become city's mayor". Leicester Mercury. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  4. ↑ Maclean, David (7 March 2011). "MP Sir Peter Soulsby quits to join race to be Leicester's first elected mayor". Leicester Mercury. Archived from the original on 10 March 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  5. ↑ "Manor of Northstead". HM Treasury. 1 April 2011.
  6. ↑ Statement of Persons Nominated Archived 19 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Leicester Council
  7. ↑ Maclean, David (12 March 2011). "Labour's Rory is chosen as mayor running mate". Leicester Mercury. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013.
  8. ↑ Ferguson, Mark (18 March 2011). "Leicester South shortlist". Labourlist.
  9. ↑ Ferguson, Mark (19 March 2011). "Leicester South candidate". Labourlist.
  10. ↑ "Jonathan Ashworth is Labour's choice for Leicester South". Leicester Labour Party. 19 March 2011.
  11. ↑ "Parmjit Singh Gill selected for Lib Dems in Leicester South". Liberal Democrat Voice. 19 March 2011.
  12. ↑ "Parmjit Singh Gill withdraws as Lib Dem candidate for Leicester South". Liberal Democrat Voice. 23 March 2011. Archived from the original on 26 March 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  13. ↑ "UKIP Leicester South". Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  14. ↑ Isaby, Jonathan (28 March 2011). "Jane Hunt selected as Conservative candidate for Leicester South by-election". Conservative Home. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  15. "Leicester South election result: Jon Ashworth holds for Labour with an increased majority. | Leicester Mercury". Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  16. "Leicester South election result: Jon Ashworth holds for Labour with an increased majority. | Leicester Mercury". Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  17. ↑ "Leicester South election result: Jon Ashworth holds for Labour with an increased majority. | Leicester Mercury". Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  18. ↑ "Election 2010 – Leicester South". BBC News. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.