1989 Richmond (Yorks) by-election

A by-election was held in the Richmond (Yorks) constituency of the United Kingdom Parliament on 23 February 1989. It followed the resignation of the sitting Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Leon Brittan on 31 December 1988, to allow him to take up the position of Vice-President of the European Commission.

1989 Richmond (Yorks) by-election

23 February 1989
Richmond (Yorkshire) constituency
Turnout	64.4% (7.7 pp)
First party Second party Third party   SDP SLD Candidate William Hague Mike Potter Barbara Pearce Party Conservative SDP SLD Popular vote 19,543 16,909 11,589 Percentage 37.2% 32.2% 22.1% Swing 24.0 pp New party 4.9 pp
MP before election Leon Brittan Conservative Subsequent MP William Hague Conservative

The Conservative Party retained the seat, with future party leader William Hague the winner. The result was affected in part to the decision by the remnants of the Social Democratic Party (the part that objected to the merger with the Liberal Party the previous year) to contest the election as well as the newly formed Social and Liberal Democrats (who subsequently renamed themselves the Liberal Democrats). The SDP candidate, local farmer Mike Potter, finished second (with 16,909 votes, 2,634 behind Hague), while the Social and Liberal Democrats' Barbara Pearce came third with 11,589.

The Labour Party achieved only fourth place in the election, at that time their worst position in any English by-election since World War II.

Hague retained the seat for the next 26 years, winning re-election at the 1992, 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2010 general elections. The Conservative Party would not win another by-election until Uxbridge eight years later, after the Conservatives had left government, by which time Hague was leader.They wouldn't win another by-election in government until Newark 25 years later.

Results

Richmond by-election, 1989

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Hague	19,543	37.2	−24.0
	SDP	Mike Potter	16,909	32.2	New
	SLD	Barbara Pearce	11,589	22.1	−4.9
	Labour	Frank Robson	2,591	4.9	−6.9
	Green	Robert Upshall	1,473	2.8	New
	Monster Raving Loony	David "Lord" Sutch	167	0.3	New
	Independent	Anthony Millns	113	0.2	New
	Corrective Party	Lindi St Clair	106	0.2	New
	Liberal	Nicholas Watkins	70	0.1	New
Majority			2,634	5.0	−29.2
Turnout			52,561	64.4	−7.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Anthony Millns was an independent candidate who used his occupation "University Information Officer" on the ballot paper. His campaign was focused on keeping the brewery company Theakstons within British ownership.

See also

• List of United Kingdom by-elections