2012 Middlesbrough by-election

Last updated

2012 Middlesbrough by-election
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
  2010 29 November 2012 2015  

The Middlesbrough seat in the House of Commons
Turnout25.91%
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Official portrait of Andy McDonald crop 2.jpg No image.svg No image.svg
Candidate Andy McDonald Richard ElvinGeorge Selmer
Party Labour UKIP Liberal Democrats
Popular vote10,2011,9901,672
Percentage60.5%11.8%9.9%
SwingIncrease2.svg14.6%Increase2.svg8.1%Decrease2.svg10.0%

 Fourth partyFifth party
  Ben Houchen in York (cropped).jpg No image.svg
Candidate Ben Houchen Imdad Hussain
Party Conservative Peace
Popular vote1,0631,060
Percentage6.3%6.3%
SwingDecrease2.svg12.5%New party

MP before election

Stuart Bell
Labour

Subsequent MP

Andy McDonald
Labour

On 29 November 2012, a by-election was held for the UK House of Commons constituency of Middlesbrough. The by-election was caused by the death of its Member of Parliament, Sir Stuart Bell. [1] It was held on the same day as by-elections in Croydon North and Rotherham.

Contents

The deadline for nominations was 14 November. [2] [3] The election returned a Labour member of parliament, with UKIP second and the Liberal Democrats third. [4]

Candidates

Labour selected Andy McDonald, a solicitor born in Middlesbrough and former councillor for Westbourne ward from 1995 to 1999, for the seat. At the time, McDonald was chairman of Middlesbrough Labour Party Local Government Committee.

UKIP selected Richard Elvin, chairman of the North East Regional Committee, as their candidate. He contested the Houghton and Sunderland South seat for UKIP in 2010.

The Liberal Democrats selected George Selmer, who works in employment services, as their candidate. [5]

Stockton borough Councillor Ben Houchen was the Conservative candidate. [6] He would later go on to become Tees Valley Mayor.

In November 2012, Councillor Imdad Hussain, who had been suspended from the Labour Party for two years after failing to disclose he had been banned as a company director, resigned from the party and announced he would be standing for the Peace Party in the by-election. [7]

Campaigner Mark Heslehurst launched his candidacy as a self-styled 'independent Labour' candidate. [8] He had no description on the ballot paper. He had previously organised events to raise awareness of an issue related to his estranged partner and son, [9] which involved walking 500 miles to Downing Street. [10]

The BNP candidate was Peter Foreman.

Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition candidate John Malcolm was the Tees, Esk & Wear Valley Health Unison branch representative.

Current independent Middlesbrough mayor Ray Mallon mooted the possibility of standing in the by-election, depending on the quality of other candidates, [11] but did not submit his candidacy.

Hustings

Hustings were held at St Barnabas' Church on 26 November 2012, hosted by Friends of the Earth. The lively proceedings went well, with members of the audience asking over 20 questions on topics ranging from education and services to employment and the environment. Six of the eight candidates were invited. [12]

Result

The Labour Party held the seat, with McDonald elected as the new MP. Along with other by-elections held on the same day, there were sharp declines in the vote for the governing coalition parties, although this was the only one of the three at which they both retained their deposit, and the only one at which the Liberal Democrats finished ahead of the Conservatives. UKIP finished in second place. Previously they had only come second in one other parliamentary election (the Barnsley Central by-election in 2011). They also came second in the Rotherham contest held on the same date as the Middlesbrough election.

The result was also notable as the first time the Peace Party had ever retained their deposit at a parliamentary election and their highest percentage of vote share in a single constituency.

ElectionPolitical resultCandidatePartyVotes%±%
Middlesbrough by-election, 2012
Death of Sir Stuart Bell
Turnout: 16,866 (25.91%) 25.5
Labour hold
Majority: 8,211 (47.7%) +21.7
Swing: 3.3% from UKIP to Lab
Andy McDonald Labour 10,20160.5+14.6
Richard Elvin UKIP 1,99011.8+8.1
George Selmer Liberal Democrats 1,6729.910.0
Ben Houchen Conservative 1,0636.312.5
Imdad Hussain Peace 1,0606.3N/A
Peter Foreman BNP 3281.93.9
John Malcolm TUSC 2771.6N/A
Mark Heslehurstno description2751.6N/A
General Election 2010
Turnout: 33,455 (51.4%) +2.7
Labour hold
Majority: 8,689 (26.0%)
Swing: 6.4% from Lab to Lib Dem
Stuart Bell Labour 15,35145.911.7
Chris Foote-Wood Liberal Democrats 6,66219.9+1.2
John Walsh Conservative 6,28318.8+2.3
Joan McTigue Independent 1,9695.9+5.9
Michael Ferguson BNP 1,9545.8+3.3
Robert Parker UKIP 1,2363.7+1.3

See also

Related Research Articles

The Respect Party was a left-wing to far-left, socialist political party active in the United Kingdom between 2004 and 2016. At the height of its success in 2007, the party had one Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons and nineteen councillors in local government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 London mayoral election</span> 2012 election for the Mayor of London

The 2012 London mayoral election was an election held on Thursday 3 May 2012, to elect the Mayor of London. It was held on the same day as the London Assembly election, and used a supplementary vote system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Leicester South by-election</span> 2011 UK parliament by-election

On 5 May 2011, a by-election was held for the UK 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 Jon Ashworth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 England and Wales police and crime commissioner elections</span>

The 2012 police and crime commissioner elections were polls held in most police areas in England and Wales on Thursday 15 November. The direct election of police and crime commissioners (PCCs) was originally scheduled for May 2012 but was postponed in order to secure the passage of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 through the House of Lords. The government considers the elected commissioners to have a stronger mandate than the "unelected and invisible police authorities that they replace". The elections took place alongside by-elections for the House of Commons in Cardiff South and Penarth, Corby and Manchester Central, and a mayoral election in Bristol.

On 29 March 2012, a by-election was held for the House of Commons constituency of Bradford West. It was unexpectedly won by George Galloway of the Respect Party who defeated the Labour Party candidate by a large margin in a result referred to by Galloway as the "Bradford Spring". Galloway said the election result was Bradford's "peaceful democratic uprising" version of the riots which swept through England in August 2011.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Croydon North by-election</span>

On 29 November 2012, a by-election was held for the UK House of Commons constituency of Croydon North in the London Borough of Croydon. The by-election was caused by the death of its Member of Parliament Malcolm Wicks. It took place on the same day as by-elections in Middlesbrough and Rotherham. The by-election was won by Steve Reed of the Labour Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Rotherham by-election</span>

On 29 November 2012, a by-election was held for the UK House of Commons constituency of Rotherham. The by-election was caused by the resignation of its Member of Parliament Denis MacShane after the House of Commons Standards and Privileges Committee found that he had submitted 19 false invoices "plainly intended to deceive" the parliamentary expenses authority, an issue dating back to 2009 and a wider parliamentary expenses scandal in the UK. MacShane accepted the office of Chiltern Hundreds on 5 November 2012, formally vacating his seat. The election took place on 29 November 2012, at the same time as by-elections in Croydon North and Middlesbrough which were caused by the deaths of the sitting MPs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 London mayoral election</span> 2016 election for the Mayor of London

The 2016 London mayoral election was held on 5 May 2016 to elect the Mayor of London, on the same day as the London Assembly election. It was the fifth election to the position of mayor, which was created in 2000 following a referendum in Greater London. The election used a supplementary vote system.

A by-election held for the United Kingdom House of Commons constituency of South Shields on 2 May 2013. It was triggered by the resignation of David Miliband, the previous Member of Parliament (MP) and former Foreign Secretary, who had held the seat for Labour since 2001. The by-election coincided with local elections across England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Heywood and Middleton by-election</span> 2014 UK Parliamentary by-election

On 9 October 2014, a by-election was held for the UK parliamentary constituency of Heywood and Middleton. It was triggered by the death of its MP Jim Dobbin on 6 September 2014. It was held on the same day as the Clacton by-election. The Labour Party narrowly held the seat following a recount. UK Independence Party (UKIP) came second, and increased its vote by 36 percentage points since the previous general election.

The South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner by-election was a 2014 by-election on 30 October 2014 for the position of Police and Crime Commissioner in the South Yorkshire Police region of the United Kingdom. It was triggered by the resignation of Shaun Wright, the inaugural South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, who stepped down from the position on 16 September 2014 following the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal. Wright had been head of children's services in Rotherham between 2005 and 2010, while events surrounding the scandal were taking place. The Labour candidate, Alan Billings, was elected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council election</span>

The 2015 City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council election took place on 7 May 2015. This was on the same day as other local elections and a general election. One councillor was elected in each ward for a four-year term so the councillors elected in 2015 last stood for election in 2011. Each ward is represented by three councillors, the election of which is staggered, so only one third of the councillors were elected in this election. Labour retained overall control of the council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 England and Wales police and crime commissioner elections</span>

Elections of police and crime commissioners in England and Wales were held on 5 May 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Oldham West and Royton by-election</span> 2015 by-election, first of the 56th UK Parliament

On 3 December 2015, a by-election was held in the UK Parliamentary constituency of Oldham West and Royton in Greater Manchester. This was the first by-election of the 56th UK Parliament.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council election</span>

The 2018 City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council took place on 3 May 2018 to elect members of Bradford District Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections. One councillor was elected in each ward for a four-year term so the councillors elected in 2018 last stood for election in 2014. Each ward is represented by three councillors, the election of which is staggered, so only one third of the councillors were elected in this election. Before the election there was a Labour majority and afterwards Labour had increased their 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">2019 Brighton and Hove City Council election</span>

Elections to Brighton and Hove City Council election took place on 2 May 2019, electing all 54 members of the council, alongside other local elections in England and Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 West Yorkshire mayoral election</span>

The inaugural West Yorkshire mayoral election was held on Thursday 6 May 2021 to elect the Mayor of West Yorkshire. It took place simultaneously on the same day as other local elections across the United Kingdom, including council elections in each of the five metropolitan boroughs of West Yorkshire.

References

  1. "MP Bell dies after cancer battle". Bradford Telegraph & Argus. 13 October 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  2. Election Notice Middlesbrough.gov.uk
  3. By-election candidates confirmed Archived 2012-12-23 at archive.today , Middlesbrough Council
  4. "Middlesbrough by-election: Labour's Andy McDonald wins". BBC News. BBC. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  5. "Middlesbrough by-election date announced".
  6. More candidates announced for Middlesbrough's MP role Northern Echo
  7. Bradford councillor resigns from Labour party, Telegraph & Argus, 6 November 2012
  8. Mark Heslehurst Home Page
  9. "REunite! – Edward My Life | A father's epic fight to be reunited with his son". Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  10. 500 mile walk to try and get son back ITV News
  11. Mayor Ray Mallon not ruling out Middlesbrough MP bid, BBC News, 19 October 2012
  12. "Middlesbrough by-election hustings event - Local News - News - Videos & Pics - Gazette Live". Archived from the original on 21 December 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2012., Evening Gazette, 27 November 2012