2013 South Shields by-election

Resignation of David Miliband

The seat became vacant after David Miliband, the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) and former Foreign Secretary, announced on 27 March 2013 that he intended to resign from Parliament, in order to take up a position as head of the International Rescue Committee in New York City. In an interview with the BBC, he also explained that he "feared" his continued involvement in British politics was a "distraction" to his brother Ed's leadership of the Labour Party. Miliband's resignation was formally announced on 15 April.

Date

The date for the by-election was scheduled for 2 May 2013 to coincide with local elections across England, although none of those local elections were for councils or positions in South Shields – the nearest elections being for the county councils of Durham and Northumberland, and for the directly elected mayor of North Tyneside.

Candidates and campaign

The Labour Party selected South Tyneside councillor Emma Lewell-Buck as its candidate on 10 April 2013. Mark Walsh, a fellow councillor, had been considered the favourite to be selected, but withdrew for "personal reasons" hours before the vote.

The Conservative Party selected the previous 2010 candidate Karen Allen to once again stand for the party on 11 April 2013.

The Liberal Democrats chose Hugh Annand as their candidate on 11 April 2013. Annand had previously stood in North East Hertfordshire and has also been chosen as the seventh candidate on their East of England party-list for the 2014 European elections.

The UK Independence Party announced on 7 April 2013 that Richard Elvin would be their candidate. Elvin finished second in the 2012 Middlesbrough by-election with 12% of the vote.

Alan "Howling Laud" Hope, the leader of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party and perennial by-election candidate, stood as the party's candidate.

Comedian Simon Brodkin, in character as Lee Nelson, was duly nominated as a candidate for 'Lee Nelson's Well Good Party', but then withdrew his nomination.

Result

References

References

1. (27 March 2013). "David Miliband to step down as MP". BBC News.
2. (12 April 2013). "South Shields byelection date set". The Guardian.
3. George Eaton [http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/05/labour-holds-south-shields-ukip-takes-second "Labour holds South Shields as UKIP takes second"], ''New Statesman'', 3 May 2013
4. Miliband, David. (27 March 2013). "Letter to Alan Donnelly, Chair of South Shields Constituency Labour Party". davidmiliband.net.
5. (27 March 2013). "David Miliband 'feared being distraction' for Labour". BBC News.
6. (15 April 2013). "By-election after Miliband quits". MSN.
7. (10 April 2013). "Female S Tyne councillor wins Labour nomination". Shields Gazette.
8. Hughes, Andy. (10 April 2013). "Shock Withdrawal of Labour Party Favourite To Replace David Miliband As South Shields MP". Sky Tyne & Wear.
9. (11 April 2013). "Conservatives name candidate for South Shields by-election". [[ITV Network.
10. (11 April 2013). "Lib Dems select South Shields candidate". North East Region Lib Dems.
11. (2013-05-20). "Hertfordshire North East candidates – their election pledges". Hertfordshiremercury.co.uk.
12. (2012-12-01). "European selection results – complete". Libdemvoice.org.
13. [https://twitter.com/UKIP/status/320922544423182336 Candidate announcement] Official UKIP Twitter account
14. "Labour wins Middlesbrough by-election, with UKIP second". The Mirror.
15. (2013-04-04). "Loony leader's bid to be South Shields MP". Shields Gazette.
16. Dipper, Andrew. (19 April 2013). "Comedian Lee Nelson announces plans to stand in South Shields by-election". Giggle Beats.
17. [http://www.southtyneside.info/article/18140/South-Shields-by-election "South Shields by-election"], [[South Tyneside Council]]
18. "South Shields Constituency – 02 May 2013 Parliamentary By-Election". SouthTyneside.info.
19. (3 May 2013). "South Shields by-election: Labour wins as UKIP makes big gains". BBC News.
20. "UK General Election results May 2010, part21". Richard Kimber's political science resources.