Eddisbury by-election, 1999
Encyclopedia
The Eddisbury by-election, 1999 was a parliamentary by-election
held on 22 July 1999 for the British House of Commons
constituency
of Eddisbury
in Cheshire
.
On 25 May 1999 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
announced the appointment of Eddisbury's Member of Parliament
(MP), the Rt. Hon. Sir Alastair Goodlad
, as High Commissioner
to the Commonwealth of Australia. This created a vacancy in the seat which Sir Alastair had retained as the Conservative
candidate in the 1997 general election
. Sir Alastair resigned from the House of Commons
by accepting the office of Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern
on 28 June 1999 to formally vacate his seat.
member who lived in Chichester
, to defend the seat. Labour
nominated Margaret Hanson, wife of David Hanson
(Labour MP for Delyn), who had also fought in the 1997 election. Labour had been only just over 1,000 votes behind the Conservatives in 1997 and ran an energetic campaign, raising the issue of fox hunting
which she pledged to ban. Prime Minister
Tony Blair
went to the constituency to campaign for her, an unusual move as it is convention for incumbent Prime Ministers not to visit byelection campaigns.
Polling day was 22 July and the result was a virtual carbon copy of that in 1997; each party had fought to a standstill.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held on 22 July 1999 for the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
constituency
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
of Eddisbury
Eddisbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Eddisbury is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election.- Boundaries :...
in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
.
On 25 May 1999 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
announced the appointment of Eddisbury's 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), the Rt. Hon. Sir Alastair Goodlad
Alastair Goodlad, Baron Goodlad
Alastair Robertson Goodlad, Baron Goodlad, KCMG, PC, is a British Conservative politician who served as the British High Commissioner to Australia from 2000 until 2005....
, as High Commissioner
High Commissioner
High Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...
to the Commonwealth of Australia. This created a vacancy in the seat which Sir Alastair had retained as the 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...
candidate in the 1997 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
. Sir Alastair resigned from the House of Commons
Resignation from the British House of Commons
Members of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom are technically forbidden to resign. To circumvent this prohibition, a legal fiction is used...
by accepting the office of Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern
Chiltern Hundreds
Appointment to the office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham is a sinecure appointment which is used as a device allowing a Member of the United Kingdom Parliament to resign his or her seat...
on 28 June 1999 to formally vacate his seat.
Candidates
The Conservatives selected Stephen O'Brien, a former SDPSocial Democratic Party (UK)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
member who lived in Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
, to defend the seat. Labour
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...
nominated Margaret Hanson, wife of David Hanson
David Hanson (politician)
David George Hanson is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Delyn since 1992. He was the Minister of State for Security, Counter-Terrorism, Crime and Policing from 2009 to 2010...
(Labour MP for Delyn), who had also fought in the 1997 election. Labour had been only just over 1,000 votes behind the Conservatives in 1997 and ran an energetic campaign, raising the issue of fox hunting
Fox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.Fox hunting originated in its current...
which she pledged to ban. Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
went to the constituency to campaign for her, an unusual move as it is convention for incumbent Prime Ministers not to visit byelection campaigns.
Polling day was 22 July and the result was a virtual carbon copy of that in 1997; each party had fought to a standstill.
Results
External links
See also
- Eddisbury constituencyEddisbury (UK Parliament constituency)Eddisbury is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election.- Boundaries :...
- List of United Kingdom by-elections