Beaconsfield by-election, 1982

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The Beaconsfield by-election, 1982 was a parliamentary by-election held on 27 May 1982 for the British House of Commons constituency of Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire. It is notable for being the only election Tony Blair lost in his 25-year political career. He was elected to parliament for Sedgefield, County Durham in the following year's general election, became party leader in 1994 and went on to become prime minister with three consecutive general election wins.

By-elections, also spelled bye-elections, are used to fill elected offices that have become vacant between general elections.

United Kingdom constituencies electoral area in the UK (do not use in P31; use subclasses of this instead)

In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elect one member to a parliament or assembly, with the exception of European Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly constituencies which are multi member constituencies.

Beaconsfield (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Beaconsfield is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Dominic Grieve QC of the Conservative Party, the former Attorney General of England and Wales. It is traditionally one of the safest Conservative seats in Buckinghamshire and the country as a whole.

Contents

Previous MP

The seat had become vacant on 27 February 1982, when the constituency's Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), Sir Ronald Bell, died at the age of 67. He had been Beaconsfield's MP since the constituency was created for the February 1974 general election, having previously been MP for South Buckinghamshire since 1950. Bell had first entered Parliament at the Newport by-election in 1945, but lost that seat two months later at the 1945 general election.

Conservative Party (UK) Political party in the United Kingdom

The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom. Presently led by Theresa May, it has been the governing party since 2010. It presently has 314 Members of Parliament in the House of Commons, 249 members of the House of Lords, and 18 members of the European Parliament. It also has 31 Members of the Scottish Parliament, 12 members of the Welsh Assembly, eight members of the London Assembly and 9,008 local councillors. One of the major parties of UK politics, it has formed the government on 45 occasions, more than any other party.

South Buckinghamshire was a parliamentary constituency in the county of Buckinghamshire, England. From 1950 to 1974, it returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system.

Candidates

The Conservative candidate was Tim Smith, aged 34, who had been the surprise winner of the 1977 Ashfield by-election, where he overturned a Labour Party majority of nearly 23,000 votes. However, he lost the Ashfield seat at the 1979 general election, and was seeking to return to Parliament.

The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom which has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. The party's platform emphasises greater state intervention, social justice and strengthening workers' rights.

Ashfield (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Ashfield is a Nottinghamshire constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Gloria De Piero of the Labour Party.

The SDP-Liberal Alliance chose 40-year-old Paul Tyler, who had been Liberal Party MP for Bodmin from February 1974 to October 1974.

Liberal Party (UK) political party of the United Kingdom, 1859–1988

The Liberal Party was one of the two major parties in the United Kingdom with the opposing Conservative Party in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The party arose from an alliance of Whigs and free trade Peelites and Radicals favourable to the ideals of the American and French Revolutions in the 1850s. By the end of the 19th century, it had formed four governments under William Gladstone. Despite being divided over the issue of Irish Home Rule, the party returned to government in 1905 and then won a landslide victory in the following year's general election.

Bodmin (UK Parliament constituency) former UK Parliament constituency

Bodmin was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Cornwall from 1295 until 1983. Initially, it was a parliamentary borough, which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England and later the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until the 1868 general election, when its representation was reduced to one member.

The Labour Party selected as its candidate an unknown and untested 29-year-old barrister called Tony Blair, an aspiring politician who had been advised by Labour MP Tom Pendry to seek the party's nomination to gain political experience.

Tony Blair Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997. As of 2017, Blair is the last UK Labour Party leader to have won a general election.

Three other candidates stood, including Tom Keen, from the Campaign for a More Prosperous Britain, who held the record for the most candidacies in a single general election, and 78-year-old by-election veteran Bill Boaks, an eccentric campaigner for road safety, who usually described himself as "Air, Road, Public Safety, White Resident" or "Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident". On this occasion, he chose the latter label.

The Campaign for a More Prosperous Britain was a political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded prior to the February 1974 general election by Tom Keen and Harold Smith, both business owners in Manchester.

Lieutenant Commander William George "Bill" Boaks was a British Royal Navy officer who became a political campaigner for road safety. A pioneer of British eccentric political campaigning, he jointly held the record for the fewest votes recorded for a candidate in a British parliamentary election, taking five at a by-election in 1982.

Result

Beaconsfield has always been one of the safest seats held by the Conservative Party, and a Conservative victory was expected. The real fight was for second place; the Liberal candidate had finished a close third in 1979, and the Alliance was seeking to establish itself as the main challenger to the Conservatives, while Labour fought to defend its position as the main opposition party.

On a slightly reduced turnout, the result was a win for Tim Smith, with a fractional increase in the Conservative share of the vote. Tyler increased the Alliance's share from 17.1% to 26.8%, a significant gain, but still a disappointment when compared with the breakthroughs seen in previous by-elections.

Labour's vote was nearly halved from 20.2% in 1979, down to 10.4%, and Blair lost his deposit as his vote was below the 12.5% threshold.

The relatively good Conservative showing may be partly attributed to the surge in support for the government due to the ongoing Falklands War.

Aftermath

Smith held the seat until the 1997 general election, when he was forced to stand down at the last minute over the cash-for-questions affair.

Tyler was a senior campaign organiser for the Alliance at further elections in the 1980s, and returned to Parliament at the 1992 general election, as MP for North Cornwall. He stood down in 2005, and was made a life peer.

Despite the party's poor showing Blair was regarded as having fought a good campaign, and he was selected as Labour candidate for the newly created safe seat of Sedgefield in County Durham. He won Sedgefield at the 1983 general election, and after a successful career in opposition he won the Labour Party leadership election in 1994. He led Labour to a landslide victory at the 1997 general election, and became Prime Minister on 2 May 1997, a position he held until 27 June 2007.

Votes

By-election 1982: Beaconsfield [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Tim Smith 23,04961.8+0.1
Liberal Paul Tyler 9,99626.8+8.7
Labour Tony Blair 3,88610.4-9.8
New Britain Michael Byrne2250.6N/A
Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident Bill Boaks 990.3N/A
Benn in Ten Unless Proportional Representation Thomas Keen510.1N/A
Majority13,05335.0-8.2
Turnout 37,306
Conservative hold Swing

See also

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References

  1. Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1979-83 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 2015-09-19.