By-elections to the European Parliament in the United Kingdom were held during the period when the United Kingdom used single-member, first-past-the-post constituencies to elect Members of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1999: they were required when a member resigned, died or was disqualified. Six by-elections were held in this period, all retained by the holding party.

The European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999 established a new system of multi-member constituencies elected by a closed party list system based on the regions of England, plus Scotland and Wales. The single transferable vote system was retained in Northern Ireland. Because of the new system, retiring MEPs would be replaced by a different person from the list, so no further by-elections were held.

Summary

By-election Date Incumbent Party Winner Party Cause Retained at next election
London South West[1] 20 September 1979 Shelagh Roberts Conservative Shelagh Roberts Conservative Disqualification Yes
Midlands West[2] 5 March 1987 Terry Pitt Labour John Bird Labour Death Yes
Hampshire Central[3] 15 December 1988 Basil de Ferranti Conservative Edward Kellett-Bowman Conservative Death Yes
Merseyside West[2] 12 December 1996 Kenneth Stewart Labour Richard Corbett Labour Death N/A
Yorkshire South[2] 7 May 1998 Norman West Labour Linda McAvan Labour Resignation N/A
North East Scotland[4][5] 26 November 1998 Allan Macartney SNP Ian Hudghton SNP Death N/A

By-elections

London South West

The London South West by-election took place on 20 September 1979, a few months after the 1979 election. The elected MEP, Shelagh Roberts, was disqualified for holding an office of profit under the Crown.[6] Roberts ran again and won, but with a significant swing against them.[7]

1979 London South West by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Shelagh Roberts 41,096 41.2 -10.8
Labour Tony Hart 32,632 32.7 +0.5
Liberal Christopher Mayhew 23,842 23.9 +10.7
ACMFT W O Smedley 1,830 1.9
Independent D Hussey 305 0.3
Majority 8,464 8.5 -11.3
Turnout 99,705 19.4 -11.8
Conservative hold Swing -5.7

Midlands West

The Midlands West by-election took place on 5 March 1987. It was caused by the death of Terry Pitt, the sitting MEP. The seat was retained by Labour, with a much reduced majority.[7]

1987 Midlands West by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Bird 59,761 39.2 -11.5
Conservative Michael Whitby 55,736 36.5 -0.7
Liberal Christopher Carter 37,106 24.3 +12.2
Majority 4,025 2.6 -10.8
Turnout 152,603 28.2 +1.2
Labour hold Swing -5.4

Hampshire Central

The Hampshire Central by-election took place on 15 December 1988. It was caused by the death of Basil de Ferranti, the sitting MEP. The seat was held by the Conservatives with a large majority.[7]

1988 Hampshire Central by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Edward Kellet-Bowman 38,039 49.0 -2.8
Labour John Arnold 16,597 21.4 -2.6
SLD David Chidgey 13,392 17.3 -6.9
SDP Martin Attlee 5,952 7.7
Green Sally Penton 3,603 4.6
Majority 21,442 27.6 -0.2
Turnout 77,583 14.1 -15.4
Conservative hold Swing -0.1

Merseyside West

The Merseyside West by-election took place on 12 December 1996. It was caused by the death of Kenneth Stewart, the sitting MEP. The seat was held by Labour with a reduced large majority.[7]

1996 Merseyside West by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Richard Corbett 31,484 53.8 -4.6
Conservative Jeremy Myers 12,780 21.8 +1.8
Liberal Democrats Kiron Reid 8,829 15.1 +1.0
Liberal Stephen Radford 4,050 6.9
National Democrats Simon Darby 718 1.2
Natural Law John Collins 680 1.2
Majority 18,704 32.0 -2.8
Turnout 58,541 11.3
Labour hold Swing -3.2

Yorkshire South

The Yorkshire South by-election took place on 7 May 1998. It was caused by the retirement of Norman West, the incumbent MEP for 14 years. The seat was held by Labour, but saw a large reduction in the majority.[7]

1998 Yorkshire South by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Linda McAvan 62,275 52.2 -20.5
Liberal Democrats Diana Paulette-Wallis 22,051 18.5 +10.6
Conservative Robert Goodwill 21,085 17.7 +3.9
UKIP Peter Davies 13,830 11.6 +9.0
Majority 40,224 33.7 -31.1
Turnout 119,241 23.4
Labour hold Swing 15.6

North East Scotland

The North East Scotland by-election took place on 26 November 1998. It was caused by the death of Allan Macartney, the sitting MEP. The seat was held by the SNP, with an increased majority.[7]

1998 North East Scotland by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP Ian Hudghton 57,445 47.6 +4.9
Conservative Struan Stevenenson 23,744 19.7 +1.1
Labour Kathleen Walkershaw 23,086 19.1 -9.3
Liberal Democrats Keith Raffan 11,753 9.7 +1.5
Scottish Socialist Harvey Duke 2,510 2.1
Scottish Green Robin Harper 2,067 1.7 +0.5
Majority 33,701 27.9 +3.8
Turnout 120,605 20.5
SNP hold Swing +1.9

References

  1. ^ Boothroyd, David (11 April 2003). "United Kingdom European Parliamentary Election results 1979-99: London". Election Demon. Archived from the original on 11 April 2003. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b c United Kingdom Parliamentary Election results 1979-1999: England: Part 2
  3. ^ United Kingdom Parliamentary Election results 1979-1999: England: Part 1
  4. ^ Grice, Andrew (28 November 1998). "Politics: Euro Election: Woofie factor sees off Labour in Scots poll". The Independent. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  5. ^ United Kingdom Parliamentary Election results 1979-1999: Scotland
  6. ^ "Dame Sheiagh Roberts." Times [London, England] 20 Jan. 1992: 14. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 31 May 2014.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Cracknell, Richard; Morgan, Bryn (2 June 1999). "European Parliament elections: 1979 to 1994". House of Commons Library. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
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