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1983 Penrith and The Border by-election

UK by-election

UK by-election

FieldValue
election_name1983 Penrith and The Border by-election
typeparliamentary
countryUnited Kingdom
seats_for_electionConstituency of Penrith and The Border
ongoingno
previous_election1983 United Kingdom general election
previous_year1983
election_date28 July 1983
candidate1**David Maclean**
image1[[File:David Maclean 2007.jpgx160px]]
party1Conservative Party (UK)
popular_vote1**17,530**
percentage1**46.0%**
swing1**12.8%**
candidate2Michael Young
image2**Lib**
party2Liberal Party (UK)
popular_vote216,978
percentage244.6%
swing216.7%
candidate3Lindsay Williams
image3**Lab**
party3Labour Party (UK)
popular_vote32,834
percentage37.4%
swing35.8
titleMP
posttitleSubsequent MP
before_electionWilliam Whitelaw
before_partyConservative Party (UK)
after_electionDavid Maclean
after_partyConservative Party (UK)
turnout55.9% ( 17.2%)
next_election1987 United Kingdom general election
next_year1987

The 1983 Penrith and The Border by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 28 July 1983 for the House of Commons constituency of Penrith and The Border in Cumbria.

Held seven weeks after the election in which the Conservatives won a second term by a landslide, it was the very first by-election of the 1983–1987 Parliament.

Vacancy

The seat had become vacant when the constituency's Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), William Whitelaw had been elevated to the peerage as Viscount Whitelaw. Whitelaw had held the seat since the 1955 general election, and had been Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party since 1974, and Deputy Prime Minister since 1979, serving as Home Secretary from 1979 until his ennoblement and appointment as Leader of the House of Lords.

Result

The result of the contest was a narrow victory for the Conservative candidate, David Maclean, who won with a majority of 552 over the SDP–Liberal Alliance candidate Michael Young.

Defeated candidate Eric Morgan brought an election petition challenging the result on several grounds, all of which were rejected by the trial judge:

  • illegal election expenses and false declaration of election expenses (relating to spending on committee rooms) — no evidence to support
  • false statement of fact (a list of candidates published in The Daily Telegraph omitted Morgan) — unfortunate but not significant
  • undue influence by Viscount Whitelaw — the judge called the claim "an enormous impertinence"

Votes

References

References

  1. (24 December 1983). ".". [[Cumberland and Westmorland Herald]].
  2. Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1983–87 Parliament".
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