The Ribble Valley by-election, in Lancashire, England, took place on 7 March 1991 following the elevation of MP David Waddington to the House of Lords. Michael Carr of the Liberal Democrats won election at his third attempt.
The seat, based largely on the market town of Clitheroe, had previously been safely Conservative but at the time Margaret Thatcher's controversial "Poll Tax" policy was used by opposition parties against the Conservative candidate. The tax was abolished soon afterwards by Thatcher's successor John Major, who had succeeded Thatcher on her resignation in November 1990.
The then-young Liberal Democrats maintained the record of their parent parties at often scoring by-election "scalps" by winning apparently-safe seats, although rarely holding them at subsequent general elections. Indeed, despite their victory at Ribble Valley, the Lib Dems lost the seat a little over a year later at the 1992 general election to the Conservative Nigel Evans who held the seat until the 2024 General Election.
Result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Michael Carr | 22,377 | 48.5 | +27.1 | |
| Conservative | Nigel Evans | 17,776 | 38.5 | -22.3 | |
| Labour | Josephine Farrington | 4,356 | 9.5 | -8.3 | |
| Ind. Conservative | David Brass | 611 | 1.3 | N/A | |
| Green | Halldora Ingham | 466 | 1.0 | N/A | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Screaming Lord Sutch | 278 | 0.6 | N/A | |
| Liberal | Simon Taylor | 133 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Corrective Party | Lindi St Claire | 72 | 0.2 | N/A | |
| Raving Loony Green Giant Clitheroe Kid | Stuart Hughes | 60 | 0.1 | N/A | |
| Majority | 4,601 | 10.0 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 46,129 | 71.1 | N/A | ||
| Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | 24.7 | |||
Previous results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | David Waddington | 30,136 | 60.9 | ―2.5 | |
| SDP | Michael Carr | 10,608 | 21.4 | ―1.7 | |
| Labour | Greg Pope | 8,781 | 17.7 | +4.2 | |
| Majority | 19,528 | 39.5 | ―0.8 | ||
| Turnout | 49,525 | 79.1 | +2.3 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ―0.4 | |||
See also
References
- ^ Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1987-92 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
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