 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Richmond Park constituency | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnout | 53.44% ( 23.01 pp) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
On 1 December 2016, a by-election was held in the UK parliamentary constituency of Richmond Park. [1] [2] It was triggered by the resignation of the Conservative Member of Parliament Zac Goldsmith on 25 October 2016 over the Government's proposal for a third runway at the nearby Heathrow Airport. It was won by Sarah Olney of the Liberal Democrats, after a campaign focused on opposition to Brexit.
When first elected in the 2010 general election and on several subsequent occasions, Goldsmith had promised that he would resign if the government supported a third runway at Heathrow. [3] Following his re-election in the 2015 general election, he stood as the Conservative candidate in the 2016 London mayoral election, and lost to Sadiq Khan.
When the May ministry announced on 25 October 2016 that the government would support a third runway at Heathrow, Goldsmith resigned his seat. [3]
Goldsmith stood as an independent candidate. [4] [5] He was described as an "Independent Conservative", [6] although that ballot paper description has not been permitted since the Registration of Political Parties Act 1998 came into force. [7]
The Conservative Party decided not to stand an official candidate against him, because the local party were reported to be supportive of Goldsmith's stance, and putting up a candidate could have split the vote and led to the Liberal Democrats winning the seat. [8] [9] [10] While not officially backed by the Conservative Party, his campaign was supported by some Conservative Parliamentarians, including Jacob Rees-Mogg, a supporter of Heathrow expansion and Brexit, [11] as well as Tania Mathias, [12] Theresa Villiers, [12] and Lord True, leader of Richmond Council. [13] A leader for the Evening Standard described the Conservative Prime Minister, Theresa May, as having "endorsed" Goldsmith. [14] The local party's website carried contact details for those wanting to support his campaign. [15]
The Liberal Democrats confirmed Sarah Olney, who was selected to fight the constituency in the event of a snap election, as their candidate for the by-election on 30 October. [16] Olney joined the Liberal Democrats in May 2015, following the general election. She lived locally in North Kingston and worked as an accountant at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington. [17] Her husband, Ben, was previously employed with the delivery of Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5, ten years previously. [18] [19]
The day after Goldsmith's resignation, three senior Labour Party MPs suggested that Labour could choose not to stand to maximise the chance of defeating Goldsmith in protest at his support for Brexit and his negative campaign against Sadiq Khan in the mayoral contest. [20] However, other Labour MPs rejected the suggestion, [21] and the party continued with the process of choosing a candidate. [22] [23] On 5 November they selected Christian Wolmar, [24] a transport expert who had stood to be Labour's candidate for London Mayor, finishing fifth out of six candidates. He had opposed Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of Labour. [25] Wolmar defeated four candidates for the nomination: Ellie Cumbo, a researcher at the General Council of the Bar of England and Wales; Barnaby Marder, a local activist backed by Momentum; Sachin Patel, a supermarket manager and Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers representative who contested the seat for Labour at the 2015 election; and Jessica Toale, who had been an advisor to Ivan Lewis MP. [26]
The Green Party leaders hinted that the party might not stand a candidate for fear of splitting the vote. However, they stressed that it was for the local party to decide. [22] [27] The party shares an anti-Brexit and anti-Heathrow expansion stance with the Liberal Democrats. On 2 November, the Richmond Green Party voted against standing a candidate and to back the Liberal Democrat candidate. [28] [ non-primary source needed ] On 3 November, the Kingston Green Party did the same, and confirmed that there would not be a Green Party candidate in the by-election. [29] [30]
The UK Independence Party, the only other party to stand in 2015, did not put forward a candidate and endorsed Goldsmith. [1] [31]
The Women's Equality Party did not stand a candidate and backed Olney, in opposition to what they described as Goldsmith's record of "racist" campaigning. [32]
Fiona Syms stood as an independent, but said she would join the Conservatives if elected. [33] The 47-year-old activist was critical of Goldsmith, describing his actions as a "tantrum" and saying he was "abandoning" Conservative voters. Syms described herself as a longstanding Conservative supporter, although she had left the party some time before the by-election was called. Syms was married to Conservative MP Robert Syms for 18 years and claimed 25 years of experience in politics as a speechwriter, organiser and constituency worker. [34] She launched her campaign on 5 November. [35] [36] [ non-primary source needed ]
Regular by-election candidate Ankit Love stood for the One Love Party under his claimed title of Maharaja Jammu and Kashmir. [37]
This was the first UK by-election in which the Conservatives declined to field a candidate in a seat they held since the Bristol South East by-election in 1963, which was triggered to allow Tony Benn to regain the seat he was disqualified from holding upon his inheritance of the Stansgate viscounty. [38] Conservative MP Alec Shelbrooke criticised the decision by the party not to stand. [39]
The Liberal Democrats also oppose a third runway at Heathrow. [27] They held the seat from 1997 until 2010, when Goldsmith won. They campaigned on an anti-Brexit position, noting Goldsmith's own support for Brexit whereas the area strongly voted for Remain in the 2016 EU membership referendum. [4] [40] [41] The constituency is estimated to have had a 72% support for Remain. [42] Goldsmith's Mayoral campaign was also expected to become a focal point of campaigning. [43] The Liberal Democrat campaign started quickly, with leader Tim Farron first visiting the constituency on 26 October. [21]
According to the Daily Mirror , bookmakers had Goldsmith as clear favourite, although the Liberal Democrats were favourite for a period. [44] Channel 4 reported senior Liberal Democrats think odds predicting the Liberal Democrats would do well have been over-stated. [21] [45]
Goldsmith said on 28 October that he would be partly funding his campaign himself. He also did not rule out the possibility of re-joining the Conservative Party after the next general election. [46]
A poll released by BMG Research on 28 October showed Goldsmith on 56% of the vote to Olney's 29%. An as-yet unnamed Labour candidate attracted 11% of the vote, with the Green Party and UKIP tied on 2% each. Asked about the main issues in the election, respondents identified Brexit (25%), Goldsmith's records and views (22%), and Heathrow expansion (21%) as the main issues. Goldsmith supporters were more focused on his record and Heathrow, while Olney supporters focused on Brexit and the Conservative government's record. Labour supporters also identified Brexit as their main consideration. Overall, the poll found 60% opposition to the third runway at Heathrow, 25% support with 14% undecided. [47]
Nick Clegg, the former Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister, launched Olney's campaign on 31 October/1 November, stressing the party's opposition to Heathrow. [34] He also argued that the Brexit decision, that Goldsmith supported, led to the decision to support Heathrow expansion. [48]
Labour candidate Christian Wolmar attracted attention for a proposal to ban toilet paper, moving instead to the "hands-free spray toilet" popular in Asia. [49] [50]
An analysis by the King's Fund revealed that the south-west London National Health Service sustainability and transformation plan (STP) is considering cutting acute services at one of five hospitals, including Kingston Hospital, local to the constituency. The Liberal Democrats used this in campaigning to criticise the Conservative government. [51]
Olney was also endorsed by the More United campaign group. [52]
In the final weekend of the campaign, the Liberal Democrats released internal polling putting Goldsmith on 46.7%, the Liberal Democrats on 43.3% and Labour on 9.5%. [53] These figures were disputed: one Conservative MP, Kit Malthouse, a former deputy mayor of London, agreed the election was very close, but the Conservative leader of Richmond Council and Goldsmith ally, Lord True, predicted Goldsmith would do much better. [13]
In the final week of the campaign, Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas campaigned for Olney, while some other local Green Party members were backing Wolmar instead. [54] [55] Musician and poverty campaigner Bob Geldof also came to the constituency to campaign for Olney. [56] On 30 November, both Olney's and Goldsmith's campaign described the election as close, with the Liberal Democrats' internal polling putting them on 47.2% to Goldsmith's 45.8%. [57]
During the 2017 general election campaign, it emerged that the Greens had been offered £250,000 to not stand in the by-election, although the party did not take up the offer and denied it had influenced their decision. [58]
This poll was conducted before nominations for the by-election closed and therefore includes two parties that opted not to stand: the Greens, who supported Sarah Olney, the Liberal Democrat candidate, and UKIP, who supported Zac Goldsmith.
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Goldsmith | Olney | Con | Lab | Grn | UKIP | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMG Research/ The Evening Standard [47] | 26–27 October 2016 | 543 Richmond Park residents | 56% | 29% | – | 11% | 2% | 2% | 0% |
| 34% | 24% | 20% | 11% | 5% | 3% | 1% |
After the close of nominations, the only opinion polls released publicly were internal polls commissioned by the Liberal Democrats and shared with The Guardian .
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Goldsmith | Olney | Wolmar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrat internal [59] | 30 November 2016 | Unknown | 45.8% | 47.2% | 6.2% |
| Liberal Democrat internal [60] | 26 November 2016 | Unknown | 46.7% | 43.3% | 9.5% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Sarah Olney | 20,510 | 49.68 | +30.41 | |
| Independent | Zac Goldsmith | 18,638 | 45.15 | −13.06'"`UNIQ−−ref−0000008B−QINU`"' | |
| Labour | Christian Wolmar | 1,515 | 3.67 | −8.67 | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Howling Laud Hope | 184 | 0.45 | New | |
| Independent | Fiona Syms | 173 | 0.42 | New | |
| CPA | Dominic Stockford | 164 | 0.40 | New | |
| One Love | Maharaja Jammu and Kashmir | 67 | 0.16 | New | |
| No label | David Powell | 32 | 0.08 | New | |
| Majority | 1,872 | 4.53 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 41,283 | 53.44 | −23.01 | ||
| Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | +21.73 [n 1] | |||
This was the first time the Liberal Democrats had gained a seat in a House of Commons by-election since the 2006 Dunfermline and West Fife by-election, and their first gain from the Conservatives since the 2000 Romsey by-election. It was also the largest increase in vote share they had obtained in a by-election since the 1993 Christchurch by-election.
Six months later, Zac Goldsmith regained the seat in the 2017 general election by 45 votes. Olney would again defeat Goldsmith in the 2019 general election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Zac Goldsmith | 34,404 | 58.21 | +8.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Robin Meltzer | 11,389 | 19.27 | −23.5 | |
| Labour | Sachin Patel | 7,296 | 12.34 | +7.3 | |
| Green | Andrée Frieze | 3,548 | 6.00 | +5.0 | |
| UKIP | Sam Naz | 2,464 | 4.17 | +3.0 | |
| Majority | 23,015 | 38.94 | +32.0 | ||
| Turnout | 59,101 | 76.5 | −0.4 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +16.0 | |||
The results in the EU referendum on 23 June 2016 were reported by local authority, and, as the constituency consists of parts of two local authorities, the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, the exact referendum vote in Richmond Park is not known. However, Chris Hanretty, a Reader in Politics at the University of East Anglia, estimated through a demographic model that Richmond Park had one of the dozen lowest 'Leave' votes in the entire country. [42] His latest estimates suggest that 27.7% of Richmond Park voters voted 'Leave', and thus that 72.3% voted 'Remain'. [67]
Susan Veronica Kramer, Baroness Kramer PC is a British politician and life peer who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond Park from 2005 to 2010. A member of the Liberal Democrats, she was their Treasury Spokesperson from 2015 to 2017 and 2017 to 2019.
Richmond Park is a constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Since 2019, its Member of Parliament (MP) has been Sarah Olney of the Liberal Democrats.
Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park, is a British politician, life peer and journalist who served as Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment from September 2022 to June 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, he was its candidate at the 2016 London mayoral election and was Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond Park from 2010 to 2016 and 2017 to 2019. Ideologically characterised as having liberal and libertarian views, he is known for his support for environmentalism and localism.
Christian Tage Forter Wolmar is a British journalist, author, railway historian and Labour Party campaigner. He is known for his commentary on transport; the author of over 20 books on the topic, he is a pundit on Britain's railway industry and host of the Calling All Stations transport podcast. An advocate for cycling, Wolmar founded Labour Cycles, which encourages the Labour Party to adopt a pro-cycling agenda.
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.
The 2017 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 8 June 2017, two years after the previous general election in 2015; it was the first since 1992 to be held on a day that did not coincide with any local elections. The governing Conservative Party led by Prime Minister Theresa May remained the largest single party in the House of Commons but lost its small overall majority, resulting in the formation of a Conservative minority government with a confidence and supply agreement with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland.
The 2019 European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2019 European Parliament election. It was held on Thursday 23 May 2019 and the results announced on Sunday 26 and Monday 27 May 2019, after all the other EU countries had voted. This was the United Kingdom's final participation in a European Parliament election before leaving the European Union on 31 January 2020; it was also the last election to be held under the provisions of the European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002 before its repeal under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, and was the first European election in the United Kingdom since 1999 to be held on a day that did not coincide with any local elections. This was the first of two national elections held in the United Kingdom in 2019; the 2019 general election occurred six-and-a-half months later in December 2019.
More United was a cross-party political movement in the United Kingdom. It described itself as a "tech-driven political startup" that supported candidates regardless of party affiliation. The movement advocated for public service investment, democratic reform, a green economy, tolerant society, and co-operation with the EU.
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.
Sarah Jane Olney is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond Park since 2019, previously holding the seat from 2016 to 2017. Olney has served as the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for the Treasury from July 2022 to 2024. And for business and industrial strategy from January 2020 to 2024, she currently serves as Spokesperon for the Cabinet Office since September 2024.
A by-election for the House of Commons constituency of Sleaford and North Hykeham in Lincolnshire, England, was held on 8 December 2016. It was triggered by the resignation of the Conservative member of parliament (MP) Stephen Phillips, who left Parliament on 4 November 2016 due to policy differences with the Conservative government led by the prime minister, Theresa May, over Brexit – the British withdrawal from the European Union (EU). The Conservatives nominated Caroline Johnson, a paediatrician, to replace Phillips; she won the by-election with more than 50 per cent of the vote, a sizable majority. The Conservatives' vote share fell slightly compared to the result at the previous general election in 2015.
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.
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.
The 2019 Liberal Democrats leadership election was held following the announcement of the resignation of Vince Cable as leader on 24 May 2019, after just under two years as leader of the Liberal Democrats in the United Kingdom. The two candidates to succeed Cable were Ed Davey and Jo Swinson.
A by-election was held in the UK Parliament constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire on 1 August 2019 after Chris Davies, who had held the seat for the Conservatives since the 2015 general election, was unseated by a recall petition. The by-election was won by Jane Dodds of the Liberal Democrats.
Unite to Remain was a campaign and electoral pact during the 2019 United Kingdom general election. It involved three parties that supported remaining in the European Union: the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party of England and Wales, and, in Wales, Plaid Cymru. Its stated goal was to avoid the spoiler effect and maximise the number of MPs elected who would oppose Brexit.
The 2020 Liberal Democrats leadership election was held in August 2020, after Jo Swinson, the previous leader of the Liberal Democrats, lost her seat in the 2019 general election. It was initially set to be held in July 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was delayed by six weeks, having been at first postponed until May 2021.
A by-election was held in the United Kingdom Parliament constituency of Chesham and Amersham on 17 June 2021, following the death of the sitting member, Dame Cheryl Gillan, on 4 April 2021. Gillan had served as MP for the constituency since 1992. The by-election was the third to the 58th Parliament, which was elected in 2019.
In British politics, the blue wall is a set of parliamentary constituencies in southern England which have traditionally voted for the Conservative Party, but generally opposed Brexit and are seen as being potentially vulnerable to gains either by the Liberal Democrats or the Labour Party. This shift was noticeable in the UK general elections of 2017 and 2019. In 2024 many of these seats did indeed fall to the Liberal Democrats and Labour Party.
