1999 Wigan by-election

The Wigan by-election of 23 September 1999 was held after the death of the incumbent Labour MP, Roger Stott.

The by-election was contested by nine candidates in total, with Labour selecting Neil Turner, who had been a local councillor for 27 years, to defend the seat. Meanwhile, the Conservatives chose Tom Peet, who was an active Trade Unionist and had worked at a nearby coal mine.

The result was a hold for the Labour Party, with Turner gaining 59.6% of the vote, in spite of a 5% swing to the Conservative Party.

Result of the by-election

Wigan by-election, 1999[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Neil Turner	9,641	59.6	9.0
	Conservative	Tom Peet	2,912	18.0	1.1
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan Rule	2,148	13.3	3.3
	UKIP	John Whittaker	834	5.2	N/A
	Socialist Labour	William Kelly	240	1.5	N/A
	Green	Chris Maile	190	1.2	0.2
	National Democrats	Stephen Ebbs	100	0.6	N/A
	Natural Law	Paul Davis	64	0.4	0.2
	Independent	David Braid	58	0.4	N/A
Majority			6,729	41.6	10.1
Turnout			16,187	25.0
	Labour hold		Swing	5.0

Result of the previous General Election

General election 1997: Wigan[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Roger Stott	30,043	68.6	5.6
	Conservative	Mark A. Loveday	7,400	16.9	6.7
	Liberal Democrats	Trevor R. Beswick	4,390	10.0	1.0
	Referendum	Anthony Bradborne	1,450	3.3	N/A
	Green	Christopher Maile	442	1.0	N/A
	Natural Law	William J. Ayliffe	94	0.2	0.2
Majority			22,643	51.7	12.3
Turnout			43,819	67.7	8.5
	Labour hold		Swing	6.2

References

1. Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1997-2002 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
2. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.