1986 Fulham by-election

The Fulham by-election, in Fulham, on 10 April 1986 was held following the death of the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Martin Stevens on 10 January that year. In a seat that had changed hands on a few occasions, it was won by Nick Raynsford of Labour, only to be regained by the Tories in the general election 14 months later.

Candidates

• Jane Birdwood was a veteran activist on the far right who was variously associated with the National Front and British National Party.[1]
• James "Boyd" Black advocated the right of Northern Ireland to directly elect its own government and was a leading member of the British and Irish Communist Organisation.[2]
• Matthew Carrington captured the seat for the Conservatives at the following election.
• John Creighton was the owner of a local wine shop.[2]
• Liza Duke called for the abolition of Parliament.[2]
• Roger Liddle later went on to become an adviser to Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson.[3]
• Nick Raynsford would later return to Parliament as MP for Greenwich and Greenwich & Woolwich.
• Rev. Geoffrey Rolph represented the Fellowship Party, which supported pacifism and opposed nuclear power.
• Reginald Simmerson, a regular by-election candidate, campaigned against British membership of the European Community.[2] Following his death in 1998 the Anti-Common Market League established a prize in his memory.[4]
• Jon Swinden ran for the Humanist Party which advocates the humanism of Mario Rodríguez Cobos.[5]
• David Sutch was the founder and leader of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party.

Results

Fulham by-election, 1986[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Nick Raynsford	16,451	43.2	+9.17
	Conservative	Matthew Carrington	12,948	34.0	-12.18
	SDP	Roger Liddle	6,953	18.26	+0.01
	England Demands Repatriation	Jane Birdwood	226	0.59	N/A
	Monster Raving Loony	David Sutch	134	0.35	N/A
	Connoisseur Wine Party	John Creighton	127	0.33	N/A
	Democratic Rights for Northern Ireland	James Black	98	0.26	N/A
	Fellowship	Geoffrey Rolph	39	0.1	N/A
	Humanist	Jon Swinden	38	0.1	N/A
	Captain Rainbows Universal Party	Liza Duke	37	0.1	N/A
	All Party Anti-Common Market	Reginald Simmerson	33	0.09	N/A
Turnout			38,084
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1983: Fulham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Martin Stevens	18,204	46.18	-0.52
	Labour	A Powell	13,415	34.03	-9.19
	Liberal	David Rendel	9,174	18.25	+9.3
	Ecology	J Grimes	277	0.7	N/A
	National Front	R Pearce	229	0.58	-0.57
	Independent Liberal	J Keats	102	0.26	N/A
Majority			4,798	12.15	+8.69
Turnout			39,421	76.05	-0.03
	Conservative hold		Swing

External links

• Results

References

1. Nick Lowles, 'A very English extremist', Searchlight
2. Results of By-elections in the 1983-1987 Parliament
3. LSE Visiting Staff
4. Anti Common Market League - Autumn 2001
5. The Humanist Party - Facts Archived 28 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
6. Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1983-87 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 19 September 2015.