1991 Monmouth by-election

The 1991 Monmouth by-election was a by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Monmouth in Wales on 16 May 1991. It was won by the Labour Party candidate Huw Edwards.

1991 Monmouth by-election

← 1987 16 May 1991 1992 →

Constituency of Monmouth
Turnout75.8% (Decrease 5.0%)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Con
LD
Candidate Huw Edwards Roger Evans Frances David
Party Labour Conservative Liberal Democrats
Popular vote 17,733 15,327 11,164
Percentage 39.3 34.0 24.8
Swing Increase 11.6% Decrease 13.5% Increase 0.8%[a]

MP before election

John Stradling Thomas
Conservative

Subsequent MP

Huw Edwards
Labour

Vacancy

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The seat had become vacant when the sitting Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), Sir John Stradling Thomas had died at the age of 65 on 29 March 1991. He had held the seat since the 1970 general election.

Electoral history

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General election 1987: Monmouth[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Stradling Thomas 22,387 47.5 −1.6
Labour Katrina Gass 13,037 27.7 +6.0
SDP Clive Lindley 11,313 24.0 −4.0
Plaid Cymru Sian Meredudd 363 0.8 −0.3
Majority 9,530 19.8 −1.2
Turnout 47,100 80.8 +1.9
Registered electors 58,468
Conservative hold Swing −2.2

Candidates

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The Conservative candidate was 44-year-old Roger Evans. The Labour Party candidate was 38-year-old Huw Edwards.

Result

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The result was a victory for the Labour candidate, Huw Edwards, who took the seat on a swing of 12.6%.

However, he was unseated at the 1992 general election by his defeated Conservative opponent Roger Evans, who held the seat until Edwards regained it in the Labour landslide at the 1997 general election.

1991 Monmouth by-election[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Huw Edwards 17,733 39.3 +11.6
Conservative Roger Evans 15,327 34.0 −13.5
Liberal Democrats Frances David 11,164 24.8 N/A
Monster Raving Loony Screaming Lord Sutch 314 0.7 N/A
Plaid Cymru (Green) Melvin Witherden 277 0.6 −0.2
Unitax Independent Peter Carpenter 164 0.4 N/A
Corrective Party Lindi St Clair 121 0.3 N/A
Majority 2,406 5.3 N/A
Turnout 45,100 75.8 −5.0
Registered electors 59,460
Labour gain from Conservative Swing -12.6

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Liberal Democrat results are compared to the vote for the Social Democratic Party in the 1987 election.

References

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  1. ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  2. ^ Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1987-92 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 1 October 2015.