1983 Penrith and The Border by-election

UK by-election 1983 Penrith and The Border by-election parliamentary United Kingdom Constituency of Penrith and The Border no 1983 United Kingdom general election 1983 28 July 1983 David Maclean x160px Conservative Party (UK) 17,530 46.0% 12.8% Michael Young UK Liberal Party (UK) 16,978 44.6% 16.7% Lindsay Williams UK Labour Party (UK) 2,834 7.4% 5.8 MP Subsequent MP William Whitelaw Conservative Party (UK) David Maclean Conservative Party (UK) 55.9% ( 17.2%) 1987 United Kingdom general election 1987 April 2022 The 1983 Penrith and The Border by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 28 July 1983 for the House of Commons constituency of Penrith and The Border in Cumbria. Held seven weeks after the election in which the Conservatives won a second term by a landslide, it was the very first by-election of the 1983–1987 Parliament. Vacancy The seat had become vacant when the constituency's Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), William Whitelaw had been elevated to the peerage as Viscount Whitelaw. Whitelaw had held the seat since the 1955 general election, and had been Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party since 1974, and Deputy Prime Minister since 1979, serving as Home Secretary from 1979 until his ennoblement and appointment as Leader of the House of Lords. Result The result of the contest was a narrow victory for the Conservative candidate, David Maclean, who won with a majority of 552 over the SDP–Liberal Alliance candidate Michael Young. Defeated candidate Eric Morgan brought an election petition challenging the result on several grounds, all of which were rejected by the trial judge:Cumberland and Westmorland Herald 24 December 1983 1 . illegal election expenses and false declaration of election expenses (relating to spending on committee rooms) — no evidence to support false statement of fact (a list of candidates published in The Daily Telegraph omitted Morgan) — unfortunate but not significant undue influence by Viscount Whitelaw — the judge called the claim "an enormous impertinence" Votes Penrith and The Border by-election, 28 July 1983http://www.election.demon.co.uk/by1983.html Results of Byelections in the 1983–87 Parliament Boothroyd David 2015-09-19 United Kingdom Election Results 2018-04-05 https://web.archive.org/web/20180405203844/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/by1983.html dead Conservative Party (UK) David Maclean 17,530 46.0 -12.8 Liberal Party (UK) Michael Young 16,978 44.6 +16.7 Labour Party (UK) Lindsay Williams 2,834 7.4 -5.8 Official Monster Raving Loony Party Screaming Lord Sutch 412 1.1 New Retired Naval Officer Eric Morgan 150 0.4 New Death off Roads: Freight on Rail Helen Anscomb 72 0.2 New Independent Socialist Independent Socialist John Connell 69 0.2 New New Britain Party Peter Smith 35 0.1 New 552 1.4 -29.5 38,080 55.9 -17.2 Conservative Party (UK) -14.8 General election, 1983: Penrith and The Border Conservative Party (UK) William Whitelaw 29,304 58.8 -2.4 SDP-Liberal Alliance Michael Young 13,883 27.9 +11.4 Labour Party (UK) W Williams 6,612 13.3 -9.1 15,421 30.1 -8.7 49,799 73.1 -3.9 Conservative Party (UK) References See also Cumbria Penrith and The Border (UK Parliament constituency) Penrith Lists of United Kingdom by-elections Penrith and The Border by-election Penrith and The Border by-election Penrith and The Border by-election Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Cumbria constituencies Category:Politics of Allerdale Category:1980s in Cumbria