2004 Birmingham Hodge Hill by-election

A by-election was held for the United Kingdom Parliament seat of Birmingham Hodge Hill, on 15 July 2004. The by-election was called following the resignation of Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP), Terry Davis, on 22 June 2004.[1] Davis had been appointed as Secretary General of the Council of Europe. The by-election was held on the same day as the Leicester South by-election,[2] which saw Labour lose the seat to the Liberal Democrats on a 21% swing.[3]

2004 Birmingham Hodge Hill by-election
15 July 2004
Turnout37.9% (Decrease 10.0%)
  First party Second party
 
LD
Candidate Liam Byrne Nicola Davies
Party Labour Liberal Democrats
Popular vote 7,451 6,991
Percentage 36.5% 34.2%
Swing Decrease 27.4% Increase 26.1%
  Third party Fourth party
 
Con
Candidate Stephen Eyre John Rees
Party Conservative Respect
Popular vote 3,543 1,282
Percentage 17.3% 6.3%
Swing Decrease 2.7% New
MP before election

Terry Davis
Labour

 Elected MP

Liam Byrne
Labour

The by-election was won by Labour candidate Liam Byrne, but with a much reduced majority of 460 votes over the Liberal Democrat candidate, Nicola Davies.

Background

Birmingham Hodge Hill has had a Labour MP since the 1950 general election, the only break being a Conservative Party victory at a 1977 by-election for the Birmingham Stechford constituency, which returned to Labour at the 1979 general election.

Campaign

The by-election was heavily contested by the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats, with both parties alleging "dirty tricks" by the other.[4][5] Liam Byrne's campaign team, led by West Bromwich East MP Tom Watson, produced leaflets with slogans such as "Labour is on your side, the Lib Dems are on the side of failed asylum seekers."[6][7] Another flier stated: "While Labour were tough the Lib Dems were wimps—they tried to stop us taking away benefits from failed asylum seekers and they voted against plans to speed up deportations."[8]

Meanwhile, the Lib Dems reminded voters of Labour's decision to invade Iraq the previous year[9] and, in the constituency's predominantly Muslim Washwood Heath ward, produced a leaflet carrying a picture of Charles Kennedy and Nicola Davies surrounded by South Asian voters.[10]

During the campaign, Labour pledged to "smash teen gangs"[11] and create "yob-free zones".[8] Domestic issues such as schools, hospitals and crime also featured prominently.[9]

Results

At the by-election, the seat was retained by Labour, but with a vastly reduced majority of only 460 votes. The Lib Dems narrowed the gap with a 26.7% swing, which at the time was the eleventh largest in United Kingdom by-election history.[5]

2004 by-election: Birmingham Hodge Hill[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Liam Byrne 7,451 36.5 -27.4
Liberal Democrats Nicola Davies 6,991 34.2 +26.1
Conservative Stephen Eyre 3,543 17.3 -2.7
Respect John Rees 1,282 6.3 N/A
National Front Jim Starkey 805 3.9 N/A
English Democrat Mark Wheatley 277 1.4 N/A
Christian Vote George Hargreaves 90 0.4 N/A
Majority 460 2.3 -41.6
Turnout 20,439 37.9
Labour hold Swing

Previous result
2001 general election: Birmingham Hodge Hill
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Terry Davis 16,901 63.9 -1.7
Conservative Debbie Lewis 5,283 20.0 -4.0
Liberal Democrats Charles Dow 2,147 8.1 -0.4
BNP Lee Windridge 889 3.3 N/A
People's Justice Perwaz Hussain 561 2.1 N/A
Socialist Labour Dennis Cridge 284 1.1 N/A
UKIP Harvey Vivian 275 1.0 -0.9
Muslim Party Ayub Khan 125 0.5 N/A
Majority 11,618 43.9
Turnout 26,465 47.9
Labour hold Swing

Aftermath

Some senior Labour strategists saw the election, as well as the one in Leicester South that took place the same day, as among the worst by-election results ever for Labour. They pointed out that the Lib Dems would very likely have won in Birmingham Hodge Hill were it not for the Respect Party, who secured some of the anti-Iraq War vote.[13] Charles Kennedy agreed, pinpointing anger about the war as a critical factor in his party's success. He said, "The story of the night is of two-party politics in the cities - the Liberal Democrats versus Labour."[14]

The Independent's Editorial on 17 July stated: "If the prime minister had hoped for 'closure' on Iraq following the Butler Committee report, the voters of Birmingham and Leicester have told him in no uncertain terms that he won't get it. Of course Iraq and the failure to find WMDs are not the only reasons for the anti-Blair vote so dramatically demonstrated in these two by-elections. The state of public services and local concerns also played a part. Nor should anything detract from the achievement of the Liberal Democrats...The Lib Dem leader, Charles Kennedy, had every right to declare as the results came in that this was 'no flash in the pan' ... The fact is that, in these two votes, as in other recent results, the Lib Dems have shown that they can unseat a ruling Labour majority as much as a Tory one."[15]

The Daily Mirror's Editorial stated: "It isn't often that defeat can leave you smiling, but Tony Blair must have been grinning all over his face [on Friday]. The night before Labour had lost one safe seat to the Lib Dems and only clung on to another by a few hundred votes. Yet what could have been a by-election disaster was not. For it was a catastrophe for [Conservative Party leader] Michael Howard. The Tories crawled in a poor third in both elections ... The voters of Leicester South and Birmingham Hodge Hill confirmed what the polls are saying - the British people have had enough of the Tories."[16]

References
  1. "Sessional Information Digest: 2003 - 04". publications.parliament.uk. 19 January 2005.
  2. Hall, Sarah (9 July 2004). "Feuding parties fight dirty war on doorsteps". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  3. "Lib Dems Triumphant in Leicester South by-election". Cambridge Liberal Democrats. 16 July 2004. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  4. Nick Cohen (22 August 2004). "The Ghost of Enoch". The Observer. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  5. Morris, Nigel (17 July 2004). "Lib Dems claim Labour's negative tactics backfired". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  6. Wearing, David (20 June 2016). "What would a post-xenophobic politics look like?". openDemocracy. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  7. Akbar, Aneesa (13 July 2020). "New Labour's Islamophobia". Tribune. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  8. "Labour's politics of the gutter". Socialist Worker. 10 July 2004. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  9. "Blair faces Iraq backlash in by-elections". The Irish Times. 15 July 2004. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  10. Maguire, Kevin (2 July 2004). "Mud starts to fly in Hodge Hill byelection battle". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  11. Seymour, Richard (2017). Corbyn: The Strange Rebirth of Radical Politics. Verso Books. ISBN 978-1-78663-299-9.
  12. Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 2001-2005 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  13. Wintour, Patrick; Hall, Sarah (3 August 2004). "Labour membership halved". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  14. "Iraq issue wounds Labour in by-election battles". WalesOnline. 16 July 2004. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  15. Editorial (17 July 2004). "The Prime Minister cannot accept responsibility and then do nothing". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  16. "'It was a catastrophe for Michael Howard'". The Guardian. 19 July 2004. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
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