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1999 Leeds Central by-election
UK Parliamentary by-election
UK Parliamentary by-election
| Field | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| election_name | 1999 Leeds Central by-election | |
| country | United Kingdom | |
| type | parliamentary | |
| ongoing | no | |
| previous_election | 1997 United Kingdom general election | |
| previous_year | 1997 | |
| next_election | 2001 United Kingdom general election | |
| next_year | 2001 | |
| election_date | 10 June 1999 | |
| turnout | 19.9% | |
| candidate1 | **Hilary Benn** | |
| image1 | [[File:Hilary Benn.jpg | 150x150px]] |
| party1 | Labour Party (UK) | |
| popular_vote1 | **6,361** | |
| percentage1 | **48.2%** | |
| swing1 | **21.4**pp | |
| candidate2 | Peter Wild | |
| party2 | Liberal Democrats (UK) | |
| popular_vote2 | 4,068 | |
| percentage2 | 30.8% | |
| swing2 | 19.6pp | |
| candidate3 | Edward Wild | |
| party3 | Conservative Party (UK) | |
| popular_vote3 | 1,618 | |
| percentage3 | 12.3% | |
| swing3 | 1.4pp | |
| title | MP | |
| before_election | Derek Fatchett | |
| after_election | Hilary Benn | |
| before_party | Labour Party (UK) | |
| after_party | Labour Party (UK) |
The Member of Parliament for Leeds Central, Rt. Hon. Derek Fatchett, (Labour) died suddenly on 9 May 1999. The Labour government rushed to organise for the by-election and moved the writ so that the election could be held on 10 June, the same day as elections to the European Parliament.
The shortlist for the Labour candidacy included the Chair of Leeds Central Constituency Labour Party, Maggie Giles-Hill, and Shahid Malik, but the selection went to Hilary Benn who had been Special Adviser to David Blunkett, then Secretary of State for Education and Employment. The Conservatives chose their general election candidate Edward Wild. The Liberal Democrats provided the strongest challenge and increased their vote by nearly 20%, but this was not enough to take the seat.
The campaign was subsumed with the European Parliament elections, and the result was an all-time low turnout for a by-election: at 19.9% it held the record for the lowest turnout in a UK parliamentary election since World War II, until surpassed in 2012 by the Manchester Central by-election.
Result
General Election result, 1997
References
References
- "By-election turnout 'lowest since WWII'".
- Ward, Lucy. (11 June 1999). "Benn's son wins stay-at-home byelection". The Guardian.
- (11 June 1999). "Benn limps in after dismal vote".
- Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1997-2002 Parliament".
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
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