2022 Southend West by-election

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2022 Southend West by-election
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←  2019 3 February 2022 2024  →
Southend West constituency
Turnout24.0% (Decrease2.svg43.4 pp)
 First party
  Official portrait of Anna Firth MP crop.jpg
Candidate Anna Firth
Party Conservative
Popular vote12,792
Percentage86.1%
SwingIncrease2.svg26.9 pp
MP before election

Sir David Amess
Conservative

Elected MP

Anna Firth
Conservative

A by-election was held on 3 February 2022 in the parliamentary constituency of Southend West following the murder of the Conservative MP Sir David Amess on 15 October 2021. Amess had been the MP for the constituency since 1997, and previously represented the nearby seat of Basildon from 1983 to 1997. Similarly to the 2016 Batley and Spen by-election—held after Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered—the major opposition parties declined to stand out of respect for Amess. The Conservative candidate Anna Firth won the by-election with 86% of the vote, with a turnout of 24%. [1] No other candidate reached the 5% threshold to save their election deposit.

Contents

Background

On 15 October 2021, Amess, who had been the MP for the Southend West constituency for more than 20 years, was stabbed multiple times at a constituency surgery, and was later pronounced dead at the scene despite efforts to treat his injuries. [2] [3] [4] Amess was first elected to represent the seat in 1997. [5] His death left the seat vacant, triggering the by-election. [5] His funeral was held on 22 November 2021. [6] The writ setting the date of the by-election was moved on 5 January 2022, with the date of the election being set for 3 February. [7]

The constituency is one of two covering Southend-on-Sea in Essex. The other seat is Rochford and Southend East. Other towns in the seat include Leigh-on-Sea and Westcliff-on-Sea. It voted Leave by 56% to 44% in the 2016 EU referendum. [8]

Southend West has elected Conservative MPs since it was created in 1950. [9] Prior to Amess, the seat had only had two other MPs: Henry Channon (1950–1958), and his son Paul Channon (1959–1997), who served in the government of Margaret Thatcher as Trade and Industry Secretary and Transport Secretary. [10] [11]

Candidates

In the days after the murder of Amess, the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Reform UK each stated they would not field a candidate in opposition to the Conservative nominee. [12] [13] [14] This follows the precedent set by the Conservatives and other major parties in the 2016 Batley and Spen by-election following the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox. [15] Patrick Maguire, writing in The Times , was critical of this decision, citing the 1990 Eastbourne by-election following the assassination of the constituency's MP by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), which was contested by all the major parties and saw the seat change hands. [16]

The Southend West Conservative Association said they wanted a local person selected to be the candidate. [17] The party said they were waiting until after Amess' funeral on 22 November to select their candidate. [17] Applications were opened on 25 November. [18]

The following were reported as applying: Gavin Chambers, Epping Forest District councillor; Anna Firth; Seena Shah; Andrew Sheldon, leader of Castle Point Borough Council; Tamkeen Shaikh, previously stood for Southend Borough Council, and for Barking at the 2019 general election; Kevin Buck, James Courtenay and Alex Bright, Southend councillors; and Katie Channon, the daughter-in-law of Paul Channon, Southend West MP until 1997. [19]

On 11 December 2021, Firth was selected as the Conservative candidate. She unsuccessfully contested Erith and Thamesmead in 2015 and Canterbury in 2019, and was a barrister and councillor on Sevenoaks Council. She was the chair of the Conservative Policy Forum. [20]

The British Freedom Party said their leader, Jayda Fransen, would stand. [21] [n 1] She had most recently stood as an independent in the 2021 Batley and Spen by-election, finishing in 15th place with 50 votes, or 0.13% of the vote.

UK Independence Party (UKIP) announced its immigration spokesman Steve Laws as a candidate. The announcement, which the party linked to its critiques of the Conservative Party's immigration policy, was condemned by the Conservatives and a Labour councillor. [22] [23]

Graham Moore represented the English Constitution Party, which fielded a candidate for the first time. [24]

Catherine Blaiklock was the founder and first leader of the Brexit Party, before moving to the English Democrats. [25]

Olga Childs stood as an unaligned independent. [25]

The candidates in the election were announced on 11 January 2022.

Campaign

It was reported in The Times on 15 January 2022 that Conservative campaigners believed that the effect of the Downing Street parties controversy would mean the "turnout could be dire", citing comments by a "veteran activist" that they had been "met with a wall of disapproval such that [they] have never had before in 25 years of doing this." [26]

On 21 January 2022, Childs announced via her campaign Twitter account that she would not be campaigning due to ill health. She asked voters to ignore her name on the ballot paper. [27]

During the campaign, Firth stressed continuity with Amess. Anderson, Downton and Fransen were all opposed to further lockdowns and COVID-19 vaccine mandates for healthcare staff, while Blaiklock, Fransen and Laws all supported greater immigration controls. Jason Pilley talked about protecting health services, ending the "war on drugs" and making cannabis a legalised and regulated industry. [28] A report by Hope not Hate on the candidates in the by-election noted that Pilley's manifesto also called for the far-right activist Tommy Robinson (Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) to be appointed to the House of Lords. [29] Moore said he would ask the Government to make Southend a free port. [25]

Results

2022 Southend West by-election [30] [31] [32] [33]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Anna Firth 12,792 86.1 +26.9
Psychedelic MovementJason Pilley5123.4New
UKIP Steve Laws4002.7New
English Democrat Catherine Blaiklock 3202.2New
Independent Jayda Fransen 2992.0New
Heritage Ben Downton2361.6New
Freedom AllianceChristopher Anderson1611.1New
English Constitution Graham Moore860.6New
Independent Olga Childs520.3New
Majority12,28082.7+51.6
Turnout 15,94224.0–43.4
Rejected ballots1,0846.8
Registered electors 66,354
Conservative hold Swing

The number of spoilt ballot papers rose four-fold to 1,084, [34] greater than the number of votes for any of the losing candidates. Some bore remarks critical of the Prime Minister Boris Johnson which a BBC analysis described as "a sign that events in Westminster have played out here at the polls". Firth said that the low turnout and high number of spoilt ballot papers were not connected to the ongoing government Partygate scandal, arguing that "you would expect a high number of spoilt ballots in an election where there is actually no left wing candidate standing at all". [34] The 24% turnout was just below that in the 2016 Batley and Spen by-election – which was similarly uncontested by the opposing main parties after the murder of the previous MP – and the third lowest since 1945. [35]

Previous result

Sir David Amess held the Southend West constituency from 1997 until he was murdered in 2021. Official portrait of Sir David Amess MP crop 3.jpg
Sir David Amess held the Southend West constituency from 1997 until he was murdered in 2021.
General election 2019: Southend West [36]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative David Amess 27,555 59.2 +4.0
Labour Aston Line13,09628.1–5.9
Liberal Democrats Nina Stimson5,31211.4+6.9
Independent 77 Joseph5741.2New
Majority14,45931.1+9.9
Turnout 46,53767.4–2.3
Registered electors 69,046
Conservative hold Swing +4.9

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Nominally, Fransen stood as an independent — The British Freedom Party was not a registered political party

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References

  1. ↑ Grierson, Jamie (4 February 2022). "Southend West: byelection win for Tories in seat of killed MP". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  2. ↑ Higginson, Harry (15 October 2021). "What happens after an MP dies in office?". Kent and Sussex Courier . Archived from the original on 16 October 2021.
  3. ↑ Walker, Peter; Dodd, Vikram (15 October 2021). "Conservative MP David Amess stabbed in Essex attack". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  4. ↑ Murphy, Matt; Casciani, Dominic (15 October 2021). "Sir David Amess: How a tragic day unfolded". BBC News . Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  5. 1 2 Daly, Patrick (16 October 2021). "Labour and Lib Dems to stand aside in Southend West by-election". Evening Standard . Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  6. ↑ "Sir David Amess' family calls for country to 'set hatred aside' at his funeral". Independent. 22 November 2021. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  7. ↑ @BBCEssex (5 January 2022). "It's been announced the by-election to choose new MP for Southend West, following death of Sir David Amess, will take place on February 3rd. The formal process to start the election came in the Commons from the Speaker Lindsay Hoyle earlier today" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 January 2022– via Twitter.
  8. ↑ "Seat Details - Southend West". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  9. ↑ "Old Bexley and Sidcup byelection: Tories retain true-blue seat". The Guardian. 3 December 2021. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  10. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 4)
  11. ↑ Roth, Andrew (31 January 2007). "Lord Kelvedon". The Guardian (obituary). Archived from the original on 1 April 2020.
  12. ↑ "Labour, Lib Dems and Greens won't stand candidates in by-election after murder of David Amess". ITV News . 18 October 2021. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021.
  13. ↑ "Green Party will not stand in Southend West by-election". The Green Party. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  14. ↑ Reform UK [@reformparty_uk] (17 October 2021). "We can confirm that, following the horrific killing of Sir David Amess MP, Reform UK will not be contesting the upcoming Southend West by-election" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021– via Twitter.
  15. ↑ Stone, Jon (17 June 2016). "Jo Cox death: Parties stand down in killed Labour MP's seat as Corbyn and Cameron call for unity". Independent . Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  16. ↑ Maguire, Patrick (19 October 2021). "All parties should contest Southend West by-election". The Times . ISSN   0140-0460. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  17. 1 2 "Sir David Amess: Southend Tories say eight candidates show interest in by-election". BBC News. 26 October 2021. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  18. ↑ "Sir David Amess: Applications open to replace Southend West MP". BBC News. 25 November 2021. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  19. ↑ "Southend Tories vote on candidates to replace Sir David Amess". BBC News. 9 December 2021. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  20. ↑ "Conservatives pick candidate for Sir David Amess's seat in Southend West". BBC News. 11 December 2021. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  21. ↑ "Jayda Fransen listed on BBC news". BBC News. 19 October 2021. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  22. ↑ "UKIP under fire after declaring candidate to stand for Sir David's MP seat". Echo. 29 November 2021. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  23. ↑ "Parties unite to condemn UKIP for 'using MP's death for political gain'". Echo. 29 November 2021. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  24. ↑ Ben Raza (4 January 2022). "New party to stand for Sir David Amess's former seat". Echo. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  25. 1 2 3 "Southend West by-election: The nine candidates, in their own words". Echo. Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  26. ↑ Shipman, Tim. "Is Boris Johnson finally sunk?". The Times. The Times. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  27. ↑ "Southend West by-election". BBC. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  28. ↑ Dedman, Simon (24 January 2022). "Southend West by-election: The candidates standing after Sir David Amess' death". BBC News. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  29. ↑ Davis, Gregory (25 January 2022). "Southend West By-Election: Candidate Briefing". Hope not Hate. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  30. ↑ "Statement of persons nominated, notice of poll and situation in polling stations". Southend Council. 11 January 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  31. ↑ "Southend West by-election live updates: Residents vote to elect MP after Sir David Amess' death". Essex Live . Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022. The turnout for the Southend West by election was 24.03 per cent of an electorate of 66,354
  32. ↑ @BritainElects (4 February 2022). "Southend West parliamentary by-election, result" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  33. ↑ "Election Results Southend West by-election 2022". 4 February 2022. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  34. 1 2 "Southend West by-election: Anna Firth wins seat for Tories". BBC News. 4 February 2022. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  35. ↑ "Southend West by-election result: Tories hold Sir David Amess's seat as some voters tell embattled PM to quit". Sky News. 4 February 2022. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  36. ↑ "Southend West Parliamentary constituency". BBC News . Archived from the original on 15 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
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