2003 Brent East by-election

By-election to the Parliament of the United Kingdom April 2022 2003 Brent East by-election parliamentary United Kingdom Brent East parliamentary seat no 2001 United Kingdom general election 2001 2005 United Kingdom general election 2005 18 September 2003 250px 36.2% Sarah Teather 150x150px Liberal Democrats (UK) 8,158 39.1% 28.5% Robert Evans 150x150px Labour Party (UK) 7,040 33.8% 29.4% Uma Fernandes Conservative Party (UK) 3,368 16.2% 2.0% MP Subsequent MP Paul Daisley Labour Party (UK) Sarah Teather Liberal Democrats (UK) A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Brent East was held on 18 September 2003, following the death of Labour Party MP Paul Daisley on 18 June that year. It was won by the Liberal Democrat candidate Sarah Teather, who gained the seat from Labour with a large swing of 29%. Commentators linked the result to anger from traditional voters over the Iraq War, as well as to the private sector's involvement in public services.Lib Dems seize Brent East victory https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3121336.stm BBC News 19 September 2003 18 March 2020 en-GB The Liberal Democrats would go on to hold the seat in the 2005 general election. Result The turnout was 36.23%. Liberal Democrat candidate Sarah Teather won with 39.12% of the vote, which was a swing of 29% from Labour. This was the largest swing from Labour to a Liberal or Liberal Democrat candidate since the Bermondsey by-election in 1983.Curtice John John Curtice Defeat heralds a new era for the PM https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/defeat-heralds-a-new-era-for-the-pm-87737.html live subscription The Independent 20 September 2003 9 January 2022 https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/defeat-heralds-a-new-era-for-the-pm-87737.html 1 May 2022 2003 Brent East by-electionhttp://www.election.demon.co.uk/by2001.html Results of Byelections in the 2001-2005 Parliament Boothroyd David 5 October 2015 United Kingdom Election Results 1 December 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081201183331/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/by2001.html dead Liberal Democrats (UK) Sarah Teather 8,158 39.12 +28.5 Labour Party (UK) Robert Evans 7,040 33.76 –29.4 Conservative Party (UK) Uma Fernandes 3,368 16.15 –2.0 Green Party of England and Wales Noel Lynch 638 3.06 –1.6 Socialist Alliance (England) Brian Butterworth 361 1.73 New Public Services Not War Fawzi Ibrahim 219 1.05 N/A Independent Winston McKenzie 197 0.94 New Independent Kelly McBride 189 0.91 New Independent Harold Immanuel 188 0.9 New UK Independence Party (Paul) Brian Hall 140 0.67 +0.1 Socialist Labour Party (UK) Iris Cremer 111 0.53 –0.8 Independent Neil Walsh 101 0.48 New Official Monster Raving Loony Party Alan Hope 59 0.28 New No description Aaron Barschak 37 0.18 New No description Jitendra Bardwaj 35 0.17 New www.xat.org Rainbow George Weiss 11 0.05 New 1,118 5.36 N/A 20,752 36.2 –15.7 Liberal Democrats (UK) Labour Party (UK) +29.0 There were 109 spoilt ballots. Previous result Labour held the seat with 63.2% of the vote at the 2001 general election. The Liberal Democrats came third in the seat at that time, with only 10.6% of the vote. General election 2001: Brent East Labour Party (UK) Paul Daisley 18,325 63.2 –4.1 Conservative Party (UK) David Gauke 5,278 18.2 –4.1 Liberal Democrats (UK) Norsheen Bhatti 3,065 10.6 +2.8 Green Party of England and Wales Simone Aspis 1,361 4.7 New ProLife Alliance Sarah Macken 392 1.4 +0.7 Socialist Labour Party (UK) Iris Cremer 383 1.3 New UK Independence Party Ashwin Tanna 188 0.6 New 13,047 45.0 0.0 28,992 51.9 –14.0 Labour Party (UK) 0.0 Aftermath Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy called the result "a big boost for British politics". He said, "We have shown that there is no such thing as a no-go area for the Liberal Democrats. In Britain's most diverse community, we have shown that we can speak for every section of society and the Liberal Democrat message is one they want to hear and support."https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/sep/19/byelections.politics Lib Dems win Brent East from Labour Press Association 19 September 2003 The Guardian 9 January 2022 In The Independent, psephologist John Curtice stated that "the defeat is not simply a little local difficulty. The finger of blame lies with the [Labour] party nationally. And there are two obvious candidates – Iraq and the domestic agenda." He went on to say that, due to Brent East's substantial Muslim and ethnic minority population, "the war is likely to have been especially unpopular. And there are plenty of Labour MPs whose electoral fortunes depend in part on the votes of Britain's ethnic minority communities." Labour Party chairman Ian McCartney admitted that the invasion of Iraq had played a major role in the party's defeat. "It is the first time since 1988 that we have lost an election," he said. "It's been unprecedented in modern times, so I am very disappointed, particularly as we had an excellent candidate in Robert Evans and an excellent campaign. The backdrop of the controversy over Iraq in its many forms has caused difficulty in the by-election and generally in getting our message across about the big investment programme we have got in public services, the economy and tackling anti-social behaviour and crime."Brent 'highlights Labour's failings' https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3121664.stm BBC News 19 September 2003 9 January 2022 The Conservative candidate, Uma Fernandes, was a local councillor. Her daughter Suella Fernandes (now Suella Braveman), a young lawyer who was also on the list of parliamentary candidates, had to be persuaded not to seek the nomination, and in the event campaigned for her mother.Benedict Brogan, Uma Fernandes: Mother goes first in race to become a Tory MP https://web.archive.org/web/20221005141443/http://www.goanvoice.org.uk/supplement/UmaFernandes.html 5 October 2022 , Goan Voice, 14 July 2003, accessed 10 July 2022 In 2015, Suella Fernandes was elected for Fareham.Hawkins Oliver etal General Election 2015 (Briefing Number CBP7186) http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7186 live House of Commons Library 28 July 2015 22 March 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20200108144851/https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7186 8 January 2020 References External links British Parliamentary By Elections: Campaign literature from the by-election See also Lists of United Kingdom by-elections Category:2003 elections in the United Kingdom Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in London constituencies Category:Elections in the London Borough of Brent Category:2003 in London Category:September 2003 in the United Kingdom