2012 Croydon North by-election

On 29 November 2012,[1] a by-election was held for the UK House of Commons constituency of Croydon North in the London Borough of Croydon. The by-election was caused by the death of its Member of Parliament Malcolm Wicks.[2] It took place on the same day as by-elections in Middlesbrough and Rotherham. The by-election was won by Steve Reed of the Labour Party.

2012 Croydon North by-election
29 November 2012
The Croydon North seat in the House of Commons
Turnout26.5%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Candidate Steve Reed Andrew Stranack Winston McKenzie
Party Labour Conservative UKIP
Popular vote 15,898 4,137 1,400
Percentage 64.7% 16.8% 5.7%
Swing Increase8.7% Decrease7.3% Increase4.0%
MP before election

Malcolm Wicks
Labour

 Subsequent MP

Steve Reed
Labour

Boundaries

The constituency covers the north west of the London Borough of Croydon and includes Thornton Heath, Norbury, Selhurst and parts of South and Upper Norwood. It is made up of eight electoral wards from the borough:

  • Bensham Manor, Broad Green, Norbury, Selhurst, South Norwood, Thornton Heath, Upper Norwood, and West Thornton

Croydon's three constituencies are contiguous with the boundaries of the London Borough of Croydon. Croydon North borders the seats of Carshalton and Wallington, Mitcham and Morden, Streatham, Dulwich and West Norwood, Lewisham West and Penge, Beckenham, Croydon Central, and Croydon South.

Result
Wards of Croydon North constituency (orange) within the London Borough of Croydon (yellow)

Croydon Borough Council released the statement of persons nominated on 14 November. This confirmed 12 candidates would contest the election.[3] The electorate was said to be around 104,000.[4]

Charity worker and social entrepreneur Andrew Stranack, who has cerebral palsy,[5] was the Conservative Party candidate.[6]

On 17 October 2012, IT professional and former London Borough of Islington Councillor Marisha Ray was selected as the prospective Liberal Democrats candidate.[7]

On 25 October, the Green Party chose local campaigner Shasha Khan, dubbed by local reporters as 'Croydon's Green Knight'.[8]

Winston McKenzie, a perennial election candidate who stood for UKIP in Tottenham, was an independent candidate at the 2003 Brent East by-election, a Veritas Party nominee at Croydon North in 2005, and an independent candidate for London Mayor was chosen as the prospective candidate for the UK Independence Party.[6]

On 29 October, the Chair of the London Race and Criminal Justice Consortium and a former Senior Policy Advisor to the then Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, Lee Jasper, was selected as the candidate for the Respect Party.

On 17 October, the National Front confirmed their prospective candidate to be the former British National Party Deputy Chairman and engineer Richard Edmonds.[9]

On 3 November 2012, former children's book publisher and current Leader of London Borough of Lambeth Council, councillor[10] Steve Reed was chosen to be the Labour candidate after a closely fought battle with London Assembly member Val Shawcross.[11]

2012 Croydon North by-election[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Steve Reed 15,892 64.7 +8.7
Conservative Andrew Stranack 4,137 16.8 -7.3
UKIP Winston McKenzie 1,400 5.7 +4.0
Liberal Democrats Marisha Ray 860 3.5 -10.5
Green Shasha Khan 855 3.5 +1.5
Respect Lee Jasper 707 2.9 +2.4
CPA Stephen Hammond 192 0.8 New
National Front Richard Edmonds 161 0.7 New
Communist Ben Stevenson 119 0.5 +0.2
Monster Raving Loony John Cartwright 110 0.4 New
Nine Eleven Was An Inside Job Simon Lane 66 0.3 New
Young People's Robin Smith 63 0.3 New
Majority 11,755 47.9 +16.0
Turnout 24,562 26.5 -34.1
Rejected ballots 112 0.1 N/A
Registered electors 93,036
Labour hold Swing +8.0

Previous result
General election 2010: Croydon North[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Malcolm Wicks 28,947 56.0 +2.4
Conservative Jason Hadden 12,466 24.1 +1.9
Liberal Democrats Gerry Jerome 7,226 14.0 −3.2
Green Shasha Khan 1,017 2.0 −0.9
UKIP Jonathan Serter 891 1.7 0.0
Christian Novlette Williams 586 1.1 New
Respect Mohommad Shaikh 272 0.5 New
Communist Ben Stevenson 160 0.3 New
Independent Mohamed Seyed 111 0.2 New
Majority 16,481 31.9 +0.5
Turnout 51,676 60.6 +8.0
Registered electors 85,216
Labour hold Swing +0.3

See also

References
  1. Davies, Gareth. "Labour hits campaign trail as Croydon North by-election pencilled in for November 29". This is Croydon. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  2. "Labour MP Malcolm Wicks dies at 65". Jersey Evening Post. 29 September 2012.
  3. http://www.croydon.gov.uk/contents/departments/democracy/pdf/599154/Croydon_North_2012-11-29/Statementpersonsnominatedandpoll.pdf%5B%5D
  4. Croydon by-election will set a record of sorts Andrew Pelling
  5. Tory candidate's life on the poverty line on a deprived estate The Guardian
  6. "Tories choose Stranack to contest Croydon North seat". 19 October 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  7. Duffett, Helen. "Marisha Ray selected for Lib Dems in Croydon North". LibDemvoice. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  8. Croydon Greens: Green Knight selected Croydon Green Party
  9. Cotterill, Mark. "100 nationalists attend JT memorial event in Preston". Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  10. Profile Steve Reed Archived 2010-05-16 at the Wayback Machine London Borough of Lambeth
  11. "Breaking: Steve Reed selected as Labour candidate for Croydon North by-election | This is Croydon". Croydon Advertiser. London. 3 November 2012. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  12. Croydon North by-election: Labour's Steve Reed secures win BBC News, 30 November 2012
  13. Parliamentary election results 2010, Croydon North Archived 2011-08-07 at the Wayback Machine Croydon Council
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