2012 Croydon North by-election

2012 Croydon North by-election | <- 2010 | 29 November 2012 | 2015 ->

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The Croydon North seat in the House of Commons
Turnout| 26.5%
|  | First party  | Second party  | Third party

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|  |  |
Candidate  | Steve Reed | Andrew Stranack  | Winston McKenzie
Party  | Labour | Conservative | UKIP
Popular vote  | 15,898 | 4,137  | 1,400
Percentage  | 64.7% | 16.8%  | 5.7%
Swing  | 8.7%  | 7.3%  | 4.0%

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| MP before election

Malcolm Wicks
Labour

| Subsequent MP

Steve Reed
Labour

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On 29 November 2012,[1] a by-election was held for the UK House of Commons constituency of Croydon North in the London Borough of Croydon. The by-election was caused by the death of its Member of Parliament Malcolm Wicks.[2] It took place on the same day as by-elections in Middlesbrough and Rotherham. The by-election was won by Steve Reed of the Labour Party.

## Boundaries[edit]

The constituency covers the north west of the London Borough of Croydon and includes Thornton Heath, Norbury, Selhurst and parts of South and Upper Norwood. It is made up of eight electoral wards from the borough:

* Bensham Manor, Broad Green, Norbury, Selhurst, South Norwood, Thornton Heath, Upper Norwood, and West Thornton

Croydon's three constituencies are contiguous with the boundaries of the London Borough of Croydon. Croydon North borders the seats of Carshalton and Wallington, Mitcham and Morden, Streatham, Dulwich and West Norwood, Lewisham West and Penge, Beckenham, Croydon Central, and Croydon South.

## Result[edit]

Wards of Croydon North constituency (orange) within the London Borough of Croydon (yellow)

Croydon Borough Council released the statement of persons nominated on 14 November. This confirmed 12 candidates would contest the election.[3] The electorate was said to be around 104,000.[4]

Charity worker and social entrepreneur Andrew Stranack, who has cerebral palsy,[5] was the Conservative Party candidate.[6]

On 17 October 2012, IT professional and former London Borough of Islington Councillor Marisha Ray was selected as the prospective Liberal Democrats candidate.[7]

On 25 October, the Green Party chose local campaigner Shasha Khan, dubbed by local reporters as 'Croydon's Green Knight'.[8]

Winston McKenzie, a perennial election candidate who stood for UKIP in Tottenham, was an independent candidate at the 2003 Brent East by-election, a Veritas Party nominee at Croydon North in 2005, and an independent candidate for London Mayor was chosen as the prospective candidate for the UK Independence Party.[6]

On 29 October, the Chair[citation needed] of the London Race and Criminal Justice Consortium and a former Senior Policy Advisor to the then Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, Lee Jasper, was selected[citation needed] as the candidate for the Respect Party.

On 17 October, the National Front confirmed their prospective candidate to be the former British National Party Deputy Chairman and engineer Richard Edmonds.[9]

On 3 November 2012, former children's book publisher and current Leader of London Borough of Lambeth Council, councillor[10] Steve Reed was chosen to be the Labour candidate after a closely fought battle with London Assembly member Val Shawcross.[11]

2012 Croydon North by-election[12] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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| Labour | Steve Reed | 15,892  | 64.7  | +8.7
| Conservative | Andrew Stranack  | 4,137  | 16.8  | -7.3
| UKIP | Winston McKenzie | 1,400  | 5.7  | +4.0
| Liberal Democrats | Marisha Ray  | 860  | 3.5  | -10.5
| Green | Shasha Khan  | 855  | 3.5  | +1.5
| Respect | Lee Jasper | 707  | 2.9  | +2.4
| CPA | Stephen Hammond  | 192  | 0.8  | New
| National Front | Richard Edmonds | 161  | 0.7  | New
| Communist | Ben Stevenson  | 119  | 0.5  | +0.2
| Monster Raving Loony | John Cartwright  | 110  | 0.4  | New
| Nine Eleven Was An Inside Job  | Simon Lane  | 66  | 0.3  | New
| Young People's | Robin Smith  | 63  | 0.3  | New
Majority  | 11,755  | 47.9  | +16.0
Turnout | 24,562  | 26.5  | -34.1
Rejected ballots  | 112  | 0.1  | N/A
Registered electors | 93,036  |  |
| Labour hold | Swing | +8.0  |

## Previous result[edit]

General election 2010: Croydon North[13] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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| Labour | Malcolm Wicks | 28,947  | 56.0  | +2.4
| Conservative | Jason Hadden  | 12,466  | 24.1  | +1.9
| Liberal Democrats | Gerry Jerome  | 7,226  | 14.0  | −3.2
| Green | Shasha Khan  | 1,017  | 2.0  | −0.9
| UKIP | Jonathan Serter  | 891  | 1.7  | 0.0
| Christian | Novlette Williams  | 586  | 1.1  | New
| Respect | Mohommad Shaikh  | 272  | 0.5  | New
| Communist | Ben Stevenson  | 160  | 0.3  | New
| Independent | Mohamed Seyed  | 111  | 0.2  | New
Majority  | 16,481  | 31.9  | +0.5
Turnout | 51,676  | 60.6  | +8.0
Registered electors | 85,216  |  |
| Labour hold | Swing | +0.3  |

## See also[edit]

* 1940 Croydon North by-election
* 1948 Croydon North by-election
* List of United Kingdom by-elections
* Opinion polling for the 2015 United Kingdom general election

## References[edit]

1. ^ Davies, Gareth. "Labour hits campaign trail as Croydon North by-election pencilled in for November 29". This is Croydon. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
2. ^ "Labour MP Malcolm Wicks dies at 65". Jersey Evening Post. 29 September 2012.
3. ^ http://www.croydon.gov.uk/contents/departments/democracy/pdf/599154/Croydon_North_2012-11-29/Statementpersonsnominatedandpoll.pdf[permanent dead link]
4. ^ Croydon by-election will set a record of sorts Andrew Pelling
5. ^ Tory candidate's life on the poverty line on a deprived estate The Guardian
6. ^ a b "Tories choose Stranack to contest Croydon North seat". 19 October 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
7. ^ Duffett, Helen. "Marisha Ray selected for Lib Dems in Croydon North". LibDemvoice. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
8. ^ Croydon Greens: Green Knight selected Croydon Green Party
9. ^ Cotterill, Mark. "100 nationalists attend JT memorial event in Preston". Retrieved 18 October 2012.
10. ^ Profile Steve Reed Archived 2010-05-16 at the Wayback Machine London Borough of Lambeth
11. ^ "Breaking: Steve Reed selected as Labour candidate for Croydon North by-election | This is Croydon". Croydon Advertiser. London. 3 November 2012. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
12. ^ Croydon North by-election: Labour's Steve Reed secures win BBC News, 30 November 2012
13. ^ Parliamentary election results 2010, Croydon North Archived 2011-08-07 at the Wayback Machine Croydon Council

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