2022 City of Chester by-election

A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of the City of Chester was held on 1 December 2022,[1] following the appointment of incumbent member of Parliament Chris Matheson as Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds on 21 October 2022 after accusations of sexual misconduct[2] and a recommendation from the Independent Expert Panel that he be suspended from the House of Commons for four weeks.[2]

2022 City of Chester by-election
1 December 2022
City of Chester constituency
Turnout41.2% (Decrease 30.5 pp)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Candidate Samantha Dixon Liz Wardlaw Rob Herd
Party Labour Conservative Liberal Democrats
Last election 49.6% 38.3% 6.8%
Popular vote 17,309 6,335 2,368
Percentage 60.8% 22.2% 8.3%
Swing Increase 11.2 pp Decrease 16.1 pp Increase 1.5 pp
MP before election

Chris Matheson
Labour

 Elected MP

Samantha Dixon
Labour

This was the first by-election to be held during both the reign of King Charles III and the premiership of Rishi Sunak. It was also the first by-election in North West England since the 2017 Copeland by-election, the first in a parliamentary constituency in Cheshire since the 2008 Crewe and Nantwich by-election, and the penultimate by-election of 2022. The by-election was won by Samantha Dixon of the Labour Party. The 14-point swing was Labour's best-ever result in the seat, and the worst result for the Conservative Party in Chester since 1832 (as its precursor, the Tories). The by-election was held two weeks before a by-election in Stretford and Urmston in nearby Greater Manchester.

Background

The City of Chester constituency is one of the country's oldest, having elected members of parliament since 1545. The constituency is in western Cheshire, alongside Flintshire on the England–Wales border. The constituency covers the cathedral city of the same name and the surrounding rural areas.[3] The constituency varies by social class, including middle-class areas such as Upton-by-Chester and the large rural former council estate of Blacon.[4]

A Conservative safe seat for most of the 20th century, Chester elected its first Labour MP in the 1997 general election, when it was taken by librarian Christine Russell, who defeated TV personality and writer Gyles Brandreth. In 2010, she was unseated by Conservative Stephen Mosley, who served one term. Chris Matheson gained the seat from Mosley with a majority of 93 votes, having the third smallest majority of a parliamentary constituency in the UK in the 2015 general election. At the 2017 election, Matheson increased his majority from 93 to 9,176, turning Chester from a super-marginal seat into a relatively safe seat.[5] Chester voted Remain by 54% to 46% in the 2016 EU referendum.[6]

Matheson resigned on 21 October 2022, in response to the Independent Expert Panel's recommendation that he be suspended from the House of Commons for four weeks over allegations of "serious sexual misconduct" towards a junior member of staff.[2] Following the findings, the Labour Party suspended his membership and withdrew the parliamentary whip.[7] Matheson would have faced a recall from Parliament under the Recall of MPs Act 2015, but he announced his resignation shortly after news of the findings was made public.[8][9] Matheson continued to deny any sexual misconduct, but said he felt obliged to resign for health and family reasons.[9]

The writ was moved for holding the by-election in the House of Commons on 25 October 2022.[10]

Libraries were made available as drop-off points for postal votes for the by-election until 30 November 2022.[11]

Candidates

On 29 October, the Conservatives confirmed that Liz Wardlaw, a councillor for Cheshire East Council's Odd Rode ward, would stand as their candidate in the by-election.[12]

On 30 October, the Labour Party confirmed that former Cheshire West and Chester Council leader and current councillor Samantha Dixon would represent them, following a vote by local party members.[13]

On 31 October, the Liberal Democrats announced Rob Herd, a Chester school teacher and parish councillor, as their candidate in the by-election.[14]

The Green Party chose Paul Bowers as their candidate.[15] He is a Cheshire West and Chester Councillor.[16] Reform UK chose Jeanie Barton as their candidate.[17]

Rejoin EU chose party leader Richard Hewison as their candidate.[18] UKIP chose Cain Griffiths as their candidate.[19] The Official Monster Raving Loony Party chose their party leader Howling Laud Hope as their candidate.[20] The Freedom Alliance chose Chris Quartermaine as their candidate.[21]

Result
2022 City of Chester by-election[22][23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Samantha Dixon 17,309 60.8 +11.2
Conservative Liz Wardlaw 6,335 22.2 –16.1
Liberal Democrats Rob Herd 2,368 8.3 +1.5
Green Paul Bowers 987 3.5 +0.9
Reform UK Jeanie Barton 773 2.7 +0.2
Rejoin EU Richard Hewison 277 1.0 New
UKIP Cain Griffiths 179 0.6 New
Monster Raving Loony Howling Laud Hope 156 0.5 New
Freedom Alliance Chris Quartermaine 91 0.3 New
Majority 10,974 38.6 +27.3
Total valid votes 28,475
Rejected ballots 66
Turnout 28,541 41.2 –30.5
Labour hold Swing +13.7

Previous result
General election 2019: City of Chester[24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Chris Matheson 27,082 49.6 –7.2
Conservative Samantha George 20,918 38.3 –2.2
Liberal Democrats Bob Thompson 3,734 6.8 +4.1
Green Nicholas Brown 1,438 2.6 New
Brexit Party Andy Argyle 1,388 2.5 New
Majority 6,164 11.3 –5.0
Turnout 54,560 71.7 –5.7
Labour hold Swing –2.5

Reaction

Leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer called the result "a clear message to Rishi Sunak".[25] Deputy Leader Angela Rayner spoke to reporters in Chester with Dixon after the result. She said the "historic result" was due to the cost of living crisis.[26] The Conservatives saw their lowest vote share in Chester since the 1832 general election,[27] while Labour saw a 14 point swing towards them from the Conservatives, which, if projected nationally, would see Labour win a general election with a majority government.[28] It was the Labour Party's best-ever result in the seat.[29]

References
  1. McIntyre, Alex (26 October 2022). "Date set for City of Chester by-election after Chris Matheson's resignation". Cheshire Live. Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  2. Mason, Rowena; Crerar, Pippa (21 October 2022). "Labour MP Chris Matheson resigns over 'unwanted sexual advances'". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  3. "Vote 2001 – Results & Constituencies – City of Chester". BBC News. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  4. Porter, Gary (6 February 2022). "How Blacon became one of Europe's largest council housing estates". Cheshire Live. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  5. Holmes, David (9 June 2017). "Chester MP Chris Matheson celebrates big majority". Chester Chronicle.
  6. "Seat Details – Chester, City of". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  7. Bloom, Dan (21 October 2022). "MP Christian Matheson quits over sexual misconduct triggering by-election". Mirror. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  8. "Independent Expert Panel recommends suspending Christian Matheson MP for "serious sexual misconduct"". Parliament of the United Kingdom.
  9. "Labour MP Christian Matheson stands down over sexual misconduct". BBC News. 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  10. "Prayers". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 25 October 2022. col. 129–129.
  11. Watterson, Kaleigh (28 November 2022). "City of Chester by-election: Libraries to host vote drop-off points". BBC News. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  12. Pennington, Josh (29 October 2022). "Conservative candidate announced for Chester by-election after Labour MP's resignation". Cheshire Live. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  13. Pennington, Josh (30 October 2022). "Samantha Dixon announced as Labour candidate for Chester by-election after MP resigns". Cheshire Live. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  14. Ferguson, Angela (31 October 2022). "Teacher Rob Herd announced as Lib Dem candidate in Chester by-election after Labour MP resigns". Cheshire Live. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  15. "Chester By-election 2022: Paul Bowers". BBC News. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  16. "Paul Bowers – Cheshire West and Chester". Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  17. "Chester By-election 2022: Jeanie Barton". BBC News. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  18. "Rejoin EU Party leader to stand in Chester by-election". So Counties. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  19. "Chester By-election 2022: Cain Griffiths". BBC News. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  20. "Chester by-election 2022: Party leader urges residents to 'vote unusually'". Chester and District Standard. 23 November 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  21. "Chester By-election 2022: Chris Quartermaine". BBC News. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  22. "Chester by-election: Labour hold seat in Rishi Sunak's first electoral test". BBC News. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  23. @BritainElects (1 December 2022). "Chester by-election, turnout: 41.2% 28,541 votes cast" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. "City of Chester". Cheshire West and Chester Council. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  25. "'The government has run out of road': Keir Starmer reacts to Labour's Chester byelection win – video". The Guardian. 2 December 2022. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  26. "Rayner in Chester: Sunak failed in first test as leader". BBC News. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  27. "The Guardian view on the Chester byelection: a victory that poses questions for Labour | Editorial". the Guardian. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  28. Stacey, Kiran (2 December 2022). "Labour stays on course for power with Chester byelection victory". the Guardian. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  29. "City's residents discuss what led to Labour win". BBC News. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
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