1993 Newbury by-election

none October 2013 December 2020 1993 Newbury by-election by-election United Kingdom Newbury constituency no 1992 United Kingdom general election 1992 1997 United Kingdom general election 1997 6 May 1993 71.3% David Rendel x160px Liberal Democrats (UK) 37,590 65.1% 27.8% Julian Davidson Conservative Conservative Party (UK) 15,535 26.9% 29.0% MP Judith Chaplin Conservative Party (UK) David Rendel Liberal Democrats (UK) The 1993 Newbury by-election was triggered by the death of the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newbury, the Conservative Judith Chaplin. The by-election was held on 6 May 1993, and was won by David Rendel of the Liberal Democrats with a large swing of 28.4%, and well over twice as many votes as the Conservative candidate. As with the overwhelming majority of UK by-elections, turnout was lower than at the general election, falling from 83% to 71%. Background The by-election in Newbury was the first by-election of the 1992–1997 parliament, and the first in a string of by-election losses for the Conservative Party who were in their fourth consecutive term of office. Until 1993 the seat had been held by a Conservative MP since 1924. Candidates Many independent candidates, or candidates from newly formed or minor parties stood in the by-election, with three candidates standing on an anti-Maastricht Treaty platform. Andrew Bannon, a Labour member from Slough stood as a Conservative Candidate in protest at a Conservative member standing as a Labour Candidate in the 1992 general election in Slough. All candidates needed since 1985 to win at least 5% of the total votes to retain their deposit, which they must pay to stand for election. Every candidate apart from David Rendel and Julian Davidson lost their deposit, including Labour's Steve Billcliffe. The by-election achieved a record of 19 candidates, beating the previous high of seventeen at the 1984 Chesterfield by-election. It remained the longest ballot paper in any Parliamentary election until the 2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election. Result Newbury by-election, 1993http://www.election.demon.co.uk/by1992.html Results of Byelections in the 1992-97 Parliament Boothroyd David 2015-10-01 United Kingdom Election Results 20 July 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170720031954/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/by1992.html dead Liberal Democrats (UK) David Rendel 37,590 65.1 +27.8 Conservative Party (UK) Julian Davidson 15,535 26.9 −29.0 Labour Party (UK) Steve Billcliffe 1,151 2.0 −4.0 Anti-Federalist League Alan Sked 601 1.0 N/A Conservative Candidate Andrew Bannon 561 1.0 N/A Commoners' Party Stephen Martin 435 0.8 N/A Official Monster Raving Loony Party Lord David Sutch 432 0.7 N/A Green Party of England and Wales Jim Wallis 341 0.6 −0.2 Referendum Party Robin Marlar 338 0.6 N/A Conservative Rebel John Browne 267 0.5 N/A Corrective Party Lindi St Clair 170 0.3 N/A Maastricht Referendum for Britain Bill Board 84 0.1 N/A Natural Law Party Michael Grenville 60 0.1 N/A People & Pensioners Party Johnathon Day 49 0.1 N/A 21st Century Independent Foresters Colin Palmer 40 0.1 N/A Defence of Children's Humanity Bosnia Mladen Grbin 33 0.1 N/A Social Democratic Party (UK, 1990) Alan Page 33 0.1 N/A Communist Party of Great Britain (Provisional Central Committee) Anne Murphy 32 0.1 N/A Give the royal billions to schools Michael Stone 21 0.1 N/A 22,055 38.2 N/A 57,399 71.3 −11.5 Liberal Democrats (UK) Conservative Party (UK) +28.4 Rendel served as MP until the 2005 general election, when he was defeated by the Conservative candidate Richard Benyon. General election result, 1992 This is the result of the 1992 general election in Newbury. UK General Election: Newbury, 1992 Conservative Party (UK) Judith Chaplin 37,135 55.9 −4.24 Liberal Democrats (UK) David Rendel 24,778 37.3 +5.57 Labour Party (UK) Richard J E Hall 3,962 6.0 −2.13 Green Party of England and Wales Jim Wallis 539 0.8 +0.8 12,357 18.61 −9.8 66,414 82.76 +4.8 Conservative Party (UK) Aftermath The loss of Newbury marked the beginning of a disastrous run of by-election defeats for John Major's Conservatives, as they went on to lose a further seven contests in seats they had held prior to the next general election in 1997.Mason Chris Analysis: Do by-elections mean anything? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20638773 2 October 2020 BBC News 7 December 2012 The result was later described by The Herald as "a major embarrassment for the Major Government", while Tim Farron would remember it as being "inspirational" for the Liberal Democrats.Obituary - David Rendel, MP who won stunning victory for Lib Dems https://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/14522477.obituary-david-rendel-mp-who-won-stunning-victory-for-lib-dems/ 2 October 2020 The Herald 28 May 2016 As of 2024, the 37,590 votes received by Rendel is the highest number of votes received by an individual candidate for the Liberal Democrats in a Westminster election. See also Lists of United Kingdom by-elections References http://by-elections.co.uk/newbury.html Newbury 1993 By-election result and campaign literature 16 August 2010 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090821060016/http://www.by-elections.co.uk/newbury.html 21 August 2009 Category:1993 elections in the United Kingdom Category:1993 in England By-election Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Berkshire constituencies Category:1990s in Berkshire