Birmingham Northfield by-election, 1982
Encyclopedia
The Birmingham, Northfield by-election
of 28 October 1982 was held after the death of Conservative
Member of Parliament
(MP) Jocelyn Cadbury
on 31 July 1982. The seat was gained by the Labour Party
in a defeat for Margaret Thatcher
's government, ironically just after opinion polls showed an upswing in Tory support following the victorious Falklands War
campaign weeks earlier.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
of 28 October 1982 was held after the death of Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) Jocelyn Cadbury
Jocelyn Cadbury
Jocelyn Benedict Laurence Cadbury was a British Conservative Party politician.Cadbury was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a degree in Economics and Anthropology...
on 31 July 1982. The seat was gained by the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
in a defeat for Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
's government, ironically just after opinion polls showed an upswing in Tory support following the victorious Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
campaign weeks earlier.
Candidates
- John SpellarJohn SpellarJohn Francis Spellar is a British Labour Party politician, and the Member of Parliament for Warley. He served as a Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office, before returning to the backbenches in 2005...
would later serve as MP for Warley WestWarley West (UK Parliament constituency)Warley West was a parliamentary constituency in the borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands of England.It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
. - Roger GaleRoger GaleRoger James Gale is a British politician. He is the Conservative Member of Parliament for North Thanet in Kent.-Early life:...
would later serve as MP for North Thanet. - Stephen Ridley, a solicitor, ran on a campaign of introducing works councils to give workers more say in their jobs and improving local amenities.
- Ian AndersonIan Anderson (politician)Ian Hugh Myddleton Anderson was a leading figure on the British far-right in the 1980s and 1990s.- Early background :Anderson was born in Hillingdon...
emerged as the leading figure of the Flag GroupFlag GroupThe Flag Group was a British political party, formed from one of the two wings of the National Front in the 1980s. Formed in opposition to the Political Soldier wing of the Official National Front it took its name from The Flag, a newspaper the followers of this faction formed after leaving and...
wing of the National FrontBritish National FrontThe National Front is a far right, white-only political party whose major political activities took place during the 1970s and 1980s. Its popularity peaked in the 1979 general election, when it received 191,719 votes ....
and later became leader of the party. - Peter Sheppard ran on an anti-National Front, anti-Margaret ThatcherMargaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
platform. He was chairman of the All Birmingham Committee Against Racism and Fascism. - Bill Boaks, a serial independent candidate during the 1970s who frequently managed only double figure vote totals, was standing in his final by-election (he was also a candidate in the Peckham by-electionPeckham by-election, 1982The Peckham by-election of 28 October 1982 was held after the death of Labour Member of Parliament Harry Lamborn on 21 August 1982. The seat was retained for Labour by Harriet Harman.-Results:...
, which was held simultaneously).