1997 Beckenham by-election

UK parliamentary by-election June 2021 March 2012 1997 Beckenham by-election United Kingdom parliamentary no 1997 United Kingdom general election May 1997 2001 United Kingdom general election 2001 20 November 1997 43.7% Jacqui Lait Conservative Party (UK) 13,162 41.3% 1.2 pp Robert N. Hughes Labour Party (UK) 11,935 37.4% 4.0 pp Rosemary E. Vetterlein Liberal Democrats (UK) 5,864 18.4% 0.1 pp MP Piers Merchant Jacqui Lait Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Beckenham was held on 20 November 1997, triggered by the resignation of the incumbent Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) Piers Merchant, who stood down following a scandal regarding his affair with a teenage bar hostess. The Conservatives held the seat, with Jacqui Lait winning the by-election. The 1997 Winchester by-election was held on the same day. Background Piers Merchant had been under pressure during the 1997 general election campaign earlier that year after The Sun published stories about his relationship with a 17-year-old bar hostess whom he had employed as a researcher,BBC: Politics 97 (general election campaign) Retrieved 5 November 2011"Politics: Demise of man who always protested his innocence", The Independent, retrieved 5 November 2011 but he had denied any impropriety, and retained the confidence of his local association. After further newspaper stories and video footage were published which confirmed that his denial had been misleading, he resigned on 21 October 1997 by acceping the office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead – a ceremonial procedure for Parliamentary resignations. At the by-election, the Conservatives selected Jacqui Lait, who had lost her seat at Hastings and Rye in the general election. The Labour candidate, Robert (Bob) Hughes, was a long time resident of the constituency and had contested the seat at the general election. The Liberal Democrats also chose their general election candidate, Rosemary Vetterlein. The Conservatives were successful in retaining the seat with a further reduced majority."Blow for Tories as majority is reduced in by-election", The Independent, retrieved 5 November 2011 This was the last election (general or by-election) that the Referendum Party contested; it wound up soon afterwards. Result Beckenham by-election, 1997http://www.election.demon.co.uk/by1997.html Results of Byelections in the 1997-2002 Parliament Boothroyd David 2015-10-05 United Kingdom Election Results Conservative Party (UK) Jacqui Lait 13,162 41.3 –1.2 Labour Party (UK) Robert N. Hughes 11,935 37.4 +4.0 Liberal Democrats (UK) Rosemary E. Vetterlein 5,864 18.4 +0.1 Liberal Party (UK, 1989) Phil H. Rimmer 330 1.0 –0.3 National Front (United Kingdom) John C. McAuley 267 0.8 +0.1 Referendum Party Leonard F. Mead 237 0.8 –2.3 Independent politician John Campion 69 0.2 New Natural Law Party John D. Small 44 0.1 New 1,227 3.9 –5.2 31,908 43.7 –30.6 74,019 Conservative Party (UK) –2.6 Previous result General election 1997: BeckenhamElection Data 1997 http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_1997.txt Electoral Calculus 18 October 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20111015054424/http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_1997.txt 15 October 2011 Conservative Party (UK) Piers Merchant 23,084 42.5 –14.4 Labour Party (UK) Robert N. Hughes 18,131 33.4 +9.6 Liberal Democrats (UK) Rosemary E. Vetterlein 9,858 18.1 +0.7 Referendum Party Leonard F. Mead 1,663 3.1 New Liberal Party (UK, 1989) Phil H. Rimmer 720 1.3 –0.1 UK Independence Party Christopher N. Pratt 506 0.9 New National Front (UK) John C. McAuley 388 0.7 New 4,953 9.1 –23.9 54,350 74.3 –3.3 73,126 Conservative Party (UK) –15.0 References External links British Parliamentary By Elections: Campaign literature from the by-election Beckenham,1997 Beckenham by-election Beckenham by-election Beckenham,1997 Beckenham by-election