1997 Wirral South by-election

* * *

| <- 1992 | 27 February 1997 | May 1997 ->

|
|

Turnout| 71.5%
|  | First party  | Second party  | Third party

|
|
|

|  |  |
Candidate  | Ben Chapman | Leslie Byrom  | Flo Clucas
Party  | Labour | Conservative | Liberal Democrats
Popular vote  | 22,767 | 14,879  | 4,357
Percentage  | 52.6% | 34.4%  | 10.1%
Swing  | 18.0pp | 16.5pp | 3.0pp

* * *

| MP before election

Barry Porter
Conservative

| Elected MP

Ben Chapman
Labour

|

A by-election was held for the United Kingdom parliament constituency of Wirral South, in Merseyside, England, on 27 February 1997. The seat became vacant on the death of Conservative Party Member of Parliament Barry Porter, and was won by Labour's Ben Chapman.

The Conservative loss in this seat, which came close to the last possible date for a general election, meant that they no longer had a majority in the House of Commons.[1] Wirral South was the last in a run of significant Conservative losses, following a period of dissatisfaction with the Major years. This was the last Conservative loss to Labour in a by-election until the 2012 Corby by-election. Labour has held this seat since the by-election.

## Result

[edit]

Wirral South by-election, 1997[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Ben Chapman | 22,767  | 52.6  | +18.0
| Conservative | Leslie Byrom  | 14,879  | 34.4  | −16.5
| Liberal Democrats | Flo Clucas  | 4,357  | 10.1  | −3.0
| UKIP | Richard North  | 410  | 0.9  | New
| Independent | Harold Bence  | 184  | 0.4  | New
| Socialist Labour | Michael Cullen  | 156  | 0.4  | New
| Disillusioned Conservative  | Phillip Gott  | 148  | 0.3  | New
| Independent  | Roger Taylor  | 132  | 0.3  | New
| Independent - anti tobacco donation  | Anthony Samuelson  | 124  | 0.3  | New
| Natural Law | Geoffery Mead  | 52  | 0.1  | −0.2
| 21st Century Foresters  | Colin Palmer  | 44  | 0.1  | New
| Independent - Thalidomide Action Group  | Frederick Astbury  | 40  | 0.1  | New
Majority  | 7,888  | 18.2  | N/A
Turnout | 43,293  | 71.5  | −10.8
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +17.25  |

## Previous result

[edit]

General election 1992: Wirral South[3] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Barry Porter | 25,590  | 50.8  | +0.6
| Labour | Helen Southworth | 17,407  | 34.6  | +6.6
| Liberal Democrats | Edward T. Cunniffe  | 6,581  | 13.1  | −8.7
| Green | Nigel Birchenough  | 584  | 1.2  | New
| Natural Law | George Griffiths  | 182  | 0.4  | New
Majority  | 8,183  | 16.2  | −5.8
Turnout | 50,344  | 82.3  | +2.9
| Conservative hold | Swing | −3.0  |

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ "How the Government's Majority Disappeared". Retrieved 26 September 2007.
2. ^ Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1992-97 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 20 July 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
3. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.

## External links

[edit]

* British Parliamentary By Elections: Campaign literature from the by-election

## See also

[edit]

* List of United Kingdom by-elections
* List of parliamentary constituencies in Merseyside

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