2013 South Shields by-election
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The South Shields seat in the House of Commons. Triggered by vacation of seat by incumbent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 39.3% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A by-election was held for the United Kingdom House of Commons constituency of South Shields on 2 May 2013. It was triggered by the resignation of David Miliband, the previous Member of Parliament (MP) and former Foreign Secretary, who had held the seat for Labour since 2001.[1] The by-election coincided with local elections across England.[2]
The by-election was won by Emma Lewell-Buck of the Labour Party with 50.4% of the vote. The UK Independence Party (UKIP) came second with 24.2%, with the Conservatives dropping to third with 11.5%. The Liberal Democrats' candidate came seventh with just 1.4%, the Liberals' or Liberal Democrats' lowest share of the vote at a by-election since 1948.[3]
Resignation of David Miliband[edit]
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.[4] 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.[5] Miliband's resignation was formally announced on 15 April.[6]
Date[edit]
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.[2]
Candidates and campaign[edit]
The Labour Party selected South Tyneside councillor Emma Lewell-Buck as its candidate on 10 April 2013.[7] Mark Walsh, a fellow councillor, had been considered the favourite to be selected, but withdrew for "personal reasons" hours before the vote.[8]
The Conservative Party selected the previous 2010 candidate Karen Allen to once again stand for the party[9] on 11 April 2013.
The Liberal Democrats chose Hugh Annand as their candidate on 11 April 2013.[10] 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.[11][12]
The UK Independence Party announced on 7 April 2013 that Richard Elvin would be their candidate.[13] Elvin finished second in the 2012 Middlesbrough by-election with 12% of the vote.[14]
Alan "Howling Laud" Hope, the leader of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party and perennial by-election candidate, stood as the party's candidate.[15]
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.[16][17]
Result[edit]
| Election | Political result | Candidate | Party | Votes | % | ±% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Shields by-election, 2013[17][18][19] Resignation of David Miliband Electorate: 62,979 Turnout: 24,780 (39.3%) −18.4 | Labour hold Majority: 6,505 (26.2%) −4.2 | Emma Lewell-Buck | Labour | 12,493 | 50.4 | −1.6 | ||
| Richard Elvin | UKIP | 5,988 | 24.2 | New | ||||
| Karen Allen | Conservative | 2,857 | 11.5 | −10.1 | ||||
| Ahmed Khan | Independent | 1,331 | 5.4 | N/A | ||||
| Phil Brown | Independent Socialist Party | 750 | 3.0 | New | ||||
| Dorothy Brookes | BNP | 711 | 2.9 | −3.6 | ||||
| Hugh Annand | Liberal Democrats | 352 | 1.4 | −12.8 | ||||
| Alan "Howling Laud" Hope | Monster Raving Loony | 197 | 0.8 | New | ||||
| Thomas Darwood | Independent | 57 | 0.2 | N/A | ||||
| General Election 2010[20] Electorate: 64,084 Turnout: 36,518 (57.7%) +7.0 | Labour hold Majority: 11,109 (30.4%) −10.4 Swing: −6.4% from Lab to Con | David Miliband | Labour | 18,995 | 52.0 | -8.8 | ||
| Karen Allen | Conservative | 7,886 | 21.6 | +4.0 | ||||
| Stephen Psallidas | Liberal Democrats | 5,189 | 14.2 | -5.0 | ||||
| Donna Watson | BNP | 2,382 | 6.5 | New | ||||
| Shirley Ford | Green | 762 | 2.1 | New | ||||
| Siamak Kaikavoosi | Independent | 729 | 2.0 | New | ||||
| Victor Thompson | Independent | 316 | 0.9 | New | ||||
| Sam Navabi | Independent | 168 | 0.5 | New | ||||
| Roger Nettleship | Fight for an Anti-War Government | 91 | 0.2 | New | ||||
See also[edit]
- 2013 United Kingdom local elections
- 1918 South Shields by-election
- 1916 South Shields by-election
- 1910 South Shields by-election
- List of United Kingdom by-elections
- Opinion polling for the next United Kingdom general election
References[edit]
- ^ "David Miliband to step down as MP". BBC News. 27 March 2013.
- ^ a b "South Shields byelection date set". The Guardian. 12 April 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ George Eaton "Labour holds South Shields as UKIP takes second", New Statesman, 3 May 2013
- ^ Miliband, David (27 March 2013). Letter to Alan Donnelly, Chair of South Shields Constituency Labour Party. Archived from the original on 30 March 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ "David Miliband 'feared being distraction' for Labour". BBC News. 27 March 2013.
- ^ "By-election after Miliband quits". MSN. 15 April 2013. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
- ^ "Female S Tyne councillor wins Labour nomination". Shields Gazette. 10 April 2013. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
- ^ Hughes, Andy (10 April 2013). "Shock Withdrawal of Labour Party Favourite To Replace David Miliband As South Shields MP". Sky Tyne & Wear. Archived from the original on 14 April 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
- ^ "Conservatives name candidate for South Shields by-election". ITV Tyne Tees. 11 April 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ "Lib Dems select South Shields candidate". North East Region Lib Dems. 11 April 2013. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ "Hertfordshire North East candidates – their election pledges". Hertfordshiremercury.co.uk. 20 May 2013. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
- ^ "European selection results – complete". Libdemvoice.org. 1 December 2012. Archived from the original on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
- ^ Candidate announcement Official UKIP Twitter account
- ^ "Labour wins Middlesbrough by-election, with UKIP second". The Mirror.
- ^ "Loony leader's bid to be South Shields MP". Shields Gazette. 4 April 2013. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
- ^ Dipper, Andrew (19 April 2013). "Comedian Lee Nelson announces plans to stand in South Shields by-election". Giggle Beats.
- ^ a b "South Shields by-election", South Tyneside Council
- ^ "South Shields Constituency – 02 May 2013 Parliamentary By-Election". SouthTyneside.info. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ "South Shields by-election: Labour wins as UKIP makes big gains". BBC News. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ "UK General Election results May 2010, part21". Richard Kimber's political science resources. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2013.