1989 Vauxhall by-election

A by-election for the United Kingdom House of Commons was held in the constituency of Vauxhall on 15 June 1989, following the resignation of sitting Member of Parliament (MP) Stuart Holland.

1989 Vauxhall by-election
15 June 1989
Constituency of Vauxhall
Turnout44.4% (Decrease 19.6%)
  First party Second party
 
Con
Candidate Kate Hoey Michael Keegan
Party Labour Conservative
Popular vote 15,191 5,425
Percentage 52.7% 18.8%
Swing Increase 2.5% Decrease 10.2%
  Third party Fourth party
 
Green
Candidate Mike Tuffrey Henry Bewley
Party SLD Green
Popular vote 5,043 1,767
Percentage 17.5% 6.1%
Swing Decrease 0.7% Increase 4.3%
MP before election

Stuart Holland
Labour

 Subsequent MP

Kate Hoey
Labour

The winner, Kate Hoey, was Minister for Sport in Tony Blair's Labour government from 1999 to 2001 before returning to the backbenches.

The 1989 by-election was caused by Stuart Holland's resignation to take up an academic job in preference to remaining in the Labour Party. There was controversy surrounding the Labour candidate selection process. Martha Osamor had the most nominations, with Hoey only having one, but the National Executive Committee declined to shortlist Osamor and imposed a shortlist on the constituency party. When the local party refused to choose from the shortlist, Hoey was imposed by the NEC as the Labour candidate.[1]

Candidates

The by-election was contested by 14 candidates: one of the longest lists of serious candidates at any by-election in the 1980s. Don Milligan stood as the candidate of the Revolutionary Communist Party and made the struggle for gay equality the centrepiece of his campaign. Rev Hewie Andrew stood as "The People's Candidate", out of protest at the Labour Party's selection process for their candidate. There were two "Green" candidates: Henry Bewley (who represented the Green Party officially, and Dominic Allen (sponsored by a religious cult) who used the title "The Greens". This was the first time the Green Party saved its deposit in a UK Parliamentary election. There were two National Front candidates, from their warring "Official" and "Flag" factions.

At close of nominations, there had been 15 contenders, with rival candidates for the 'Social & Liberal Democrats' and 'Continuing Social Democratic Party'. However, the SDP candidate, Tom Edwards, withdrew his candidature before the notice of poll.[2]

Result
Vauxhall by-election, 1989[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Kate Hoey 15,191 52.7 +2.5
Conservative Michael Keegan 5,425 18.8 -10.2
SLD Mike Tuffrey 5,043 17.5 −0.7
Green Henry Bewley 1,767 6.1 +4.3
The People's Candidate Hewie Andrew 302 1.1 New
The Greens Dominic Allen 264 0.9 New
Independent Rudy Narayan 179 0.6 New
Revolutionary Communist Don Milligan 177 0.6 New
Official National Front Patrick Harrington 127 0.4 New
Monster Raving Loony Screaming Lord Sutch 106 0.4 New
Christian Alliance David Black 86 0.3 New
National Front Ted Budden 83 0.3 New
Fellowship Geoffrey Rolph 24 0.1 New
Leveller Party William Scola 21 0.1 New
Majority 9,766 33.9 +12.7
Turnout 28,795 44.4 -19.6
Registered electors 64,905
Labour hold Swing

See also

References
  1. Wintour, Patrick; Bowcott, Owen (18 May 1989). "Labour imposes Vauxhall choice". The Guardian. p. 24.
  2. Archived 27 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Vauxhall 1989 David Owen Papers University of Liverpool Library
  3. Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1987-92 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
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