Beckenham by-election, 1997

The Member of Parliament for Beckenham, Piers Merchant, (Conservative) accepted the office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead on October 21, 1997. He had been under pressure during the 1997 general election after tabloid newspaper stories about his relationship with a bar hostess whom he had employed as a researcher, but had denied any impropriety and retained the confidence of his local association. His resignation was caused by further newspaper stories which confirmed that his denial had been misleading.

A by-election to fill the seat was held on November 20. The Conservatives selected Jacqui Lait, who had lost her seat at Hastings in the general election. The Labour candidate Robert Hughes was a Bromley Borough Councillor from the constituency and had fought the seat at the general election. The Liberal Democrats also chose their general election candidate Rosemary Vetterlein. As the contest was taking place shortly after a general election, campaigning was somewhat subdued and the Conservatives were successful in retaining the seat with a reduced majority.

Also held on the same day was a by-election at Winchester.

Results

Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Jacqui Lait
votes = 13,162
percentage = 41.3
change = -1.2Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Robert Hughes
votes = 11,935
percentage = 37.4
change = +4.0Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
candidate = Rosemary Vetterlein
votes = 5,864
percentage = 18.4
change = +0.2

Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Party (UK, 1989)
candidate = Phil Rimmer
votes = 330
percentage = 1.0
change = -0.3Election box candidate with party link
party = British National Front
candidate = John McAuley
votes = 267
percentage = 0.8
change = +0.1Election box candidate with party link
party = Referendum Party
candidate = Leonard Mead
votes = 237
percentage = 0.8
change = -2.4Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent (politician)
candidate = John Campion
votes = 69
percentage = 0.2
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Natural Law Party
candidate = John Small
votes = 44
percentage = 0.1
change = "N/A"Election box majority
votes = 1,227
percentage =
change = Election box turnout
votes =
percentage = 43.1
change = -31.5Election box hold with party link
winner = Conservative Party (UK)
swing =

Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Piers Merchant
votes = 23,084
percentage = 42.5
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Robert Hughes
votes = 18,131
percentage = 33.4
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
candidate = Rosemary Vetterlein
votes = 9,858
percentage = 18.1
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Referendum Party
candidate = Leonard Mead
votes = 1,663
percentage = 3.1
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Party (UK, 1989)
candidate = Phil Rimmer
votes = 720
percentage = 1.3
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = United Kingdom Independence Party
candidate = Christopher Pratt
votes = 506
percentage = 0.9
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = National Front (UK)
candidate = John McAuley
votes = 388
percentage = 0.7
change = Election box majority
votes = 4,953
percentage =
change = Election box turnout
votes =
percentage = 74.6
change = Election box hold with party link
winner = Conservative Party (UK)
swing =

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/by_elections/beckenham97.html British Parliamentary By Elections: Campaign literature from the by-election]