1984 Chesterfield by-election

UK parliamentary by-election November 2019 June 2026 1984 Chesterfield by-election parliamentary no 1983 United Kingdom general election 1983 1 March 1984 1987 United Kingdom general election 1987 Chesterfield constituency MP Eric Varley Labour Tony Benn Labour Party (UK) Tony Benn 150x150px Labour Party (UK) 24,633 46.5% 1.6% Max Payne 120x120px|Blank Liberal Party (UK) 18,369 34.7% 15.1% Nick Bourne 150x150px Conservative Party (UK) 8,028 15.2% 17.3% The 1984 Chesterfield by-election was held on 1 March 1984 for a seat in the House of Commons to represent Chesterfield in Derbyshire. This followed the resignation of the sitting Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Eric Varley. The eventual winner, former Labour cabinet minister Tony Benn (who had been ousted from parliament at the general election nine months earlier) defeated sixteen other candidates, at the time the largest fielded in a British by-election — surpassing the previous high of twelve, at the 1981 Croydon North West by-election. This record would remain unbroken until the 1993 Newbury by-election. At the time, there was no requirement for political parties fielding candidates to be registered, resulting in some fringe candidates using slogans or frivolous titles as their party name. Actor Bill Maynard finished in fourth place, standing as an "independent Labour" supporter who opposed Benn's candidacy in Chesterfield. Other candidates included: John Davey, who ran in opposition to increases in the charges for NHS dentistry, Helen Anscomb, a by-election veteran who called for freight to be transported by rail to improve road safety, Donald Butler, a furniture shop owner who adopted the slogan "a Chesterfield for Chesterfield", Giancarlo Piccaro stood for the 'Official Acne Party', pretending to be dedicated to the eradication of zits worldwide, T. A. Layton stood in the name of the "Spare the Earth Ecology Party", which he had founded, and David Cahill campaigned for The Sun to be treated as a comic.ALDRIDGE-BROWNHILLS to LEEDS, WEST, 1983 to 1997 election results at election.demon.co.uk Chesterfield was Benn's fourth by-election victory. He had first entered Parliament at the 1950 Bristol South East by-election and held that seat until he was disqualified from the Commons in 1960, when he inherited a peerage, as Viscount Stansgate, upon his father's death. At the resulting 1961 Bristol South East by-election, he won with an increased majority of votes, but because he was ineligible to take his seat, the Conservative candidate Malcolm St Clair was declared elected. When the law was changed to allow peerages to be renounced, St Clair resigned the seat and Benn won the 1963 Bristol South East by-election. Result Chesterfield by-election, 1984http://www.election.demon.co.uk/by1983.html Results of Byelections in the 1983-87 Parliament Boothroyd David 2015-09-19 United Kingdom Election Results 5 April 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180405203844/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/by1983.html dead Labour Party (UK) Tony Benn 24,633 46.5 -1.6 Liberal Party (UK) Max Payne 18,369 34.7 +15.1 Conservative Party (UK) Nick Bourne 8,028 15.2 -17.3 Independent Labour Bill Maynard 1,355 2.6 New Official Monster Raving Loony Party David Sutch 178 0.3 New Four-wheel drive Hatchback Road Safety David Bentley 116 0.2 New Independent politician John Davey 83 0.3 New Independent Ecology Party Thomas Layton 46 0.1 New Independent - Freight on rails not roads Helen Anscomb 34 0.1 New Yoga and Meditation Jitendra Bardwaj 33 0.1 New Independent - Buy your Chesterfield in Thame Party Donald Butler 24 0.1 New The Welshman Paul Nicholls-Jones 22 0.0 New Elvisly Yours Elvis Presley Party Sid Shaw 20 0.0 New I am not a number Christopher Hill 17 0.0 New Acne Party Giancarlo Piccaro 15 0.0 New Re-classify The Sun newspaper a comic David Cahill 12 0.0 New Peace John Connell 7 0.0 New 6,264 11.8 −3.8 52,992 76.9 +4.3 Labour Party (UK) See also Lists of United Kingdom by-elections References Category:1984 elections in the United Kingdom Category:1984 in England Category:1980s in Derbyshire Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Derbyshire constituencies Category:Chesterfield, Derbyshire Category:March 1984 in the United Kingdom Category:Tony Benn