1990 Eastbourne by-election

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The Eastbourne by-election, 1990 was a by-election held on 18 October 1990 for the British House of Commons constituency of Eastbourne in East Sussex.

Background[]

The by-election was caused by the death of the town's Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) Ian Gow, who was killed on 30 July 1990 by a bomb placed under his car by the Provisional IRA.

The result was a victory for the Liberal Democrat candidate David Bellotti, who defeated former Conservative MP Richard Hickmet by a majority of 4,550 votes and with more than half the votes cast. The loss came as a shock to many Conservatives who had expected (not least given the circumstances under which the by-election was held, as well as the fact that it had been retained by a majority of more than 16,000 votes in 1987) that they would retain the seat. Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe sent a message to voters saying that the IRA would be "toasting their success".[1]

It was a welcome success for the Liberal Democrats, formed in March 1988, after some disastrous early local and European election showings, as well as dismal showings in opinion polls. It came at a time when Conservative support was slumping and Labour was enjoying a comfortable lead in the opinion polls, largely due to the unpopular introduction of poll tax by the Conservative government.[2]

The Liberal Democrats, whose newly adopted party emblem was a 'bird of liberty', had been compared by Margaret Thatcher in a Conservative party conference speech on 12 October to a "dead parrot".[3] The shock defeat contributed to the end of Thatcher's premiership in November 1990 as Conservative MPs worried if they could hold their seats at a general election if she remained prime minister.[4]

Result[]

By-election 1990: Eastbourne[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats David Bellotti 23,415 50.8 +21.1
Conservative Richard Hickmet 18,865 41.0 −18.9
Labour Charlotte Atkins 2,308 5.0 −3.8
Green David Aherne 553 1.2 −0.4
Liberal Theresia Williamson 526 1.1 N/A
Corrective Party Lady Whiplash 216 0.5 N/A
National Front John McAuley 154 0.3
Ironside Party Eric Page 35 0.1
Majority 4,550 9.8 N/A
Turnout 46,072 60.7 −14.9
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing 20.0

References[]

  1. ^ The Guardian :Ask Aristotle, Andrew Roth, 20 March 2001
  2. ^ "Top Ten: Lib Dem 'breakthrough moments'". ePolitix.com. 24 April 2010. Archived from the original on 12 May 2010. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
  3. ^ Seldon, Anthony; Daniel Collings (2014). Britain under Thatcher. Routledge. p. 59.
  4. ^ Seldon, Anthony; Daniel Collings (2014). Britain under Thatcher. Routledge. p. 60.
  5. ^ Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1987-92 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 1 October 2015.

Bibliography[]

See also[]

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