2012 Croydon North by-election

The Croydon North by-election was a by-election for the Parliament of the United Kingdom's House of Commons constituency of Croydon North in the London Borough of Croydon. The by-election was caused by the death of its Member of Parliament Malcolm Wicks.[1] It took place on Thursday, 29 November,[2] the same day as by-elections in Middlesbrough and Rotherham. The by-election was won by Steve Reed of the Labour Party.

2012 Croydon North by-election

29 November 2012
The Croydon North seat in the House of Commons
First party Second party Third party   Candidate Steve Reed Andrew Stranack Winston McKenzie Party Labour Conservative UKIP Popular vote 15,898 4,137 1,400 Percentage 64.7% 16.8% 5.7% Swing 8.7% 7.3% 4.0%
MP before election Malcolm Wicks Labour Subsequent MP Steve Reed Labour

Boundaries

The constituency covers the north west of the London Borough of Croydon and includes Thornton Heath, Norbury, Selhurst and parts of South and Upper Norwood. It is made up of eight electoral wards from the borough:

• Bensham Manor, Broad Green, Norbury, Selhurst, South Norwood, Thornton Heath, Upper Norwood, and West Thornton

Croydon's three constituencies are contiguous with the boundaries of the London Borough of Croydon. Croydon North borders the seats of Carshalton and Wallington, Mitcham and Morden, Streatham, Dulwich and West Norwood, Lewisham West and Penge, Beckenham, Croydon Central, and Croydon South.

Result

Wards of Croydon North constituency (orange) within the London Borough of Croydon (yellow)

Croydon Borough Council released the statement of persons nominated on 14 November. This confirmed 12 candidates will contest the election.[3] The electorate is said to be around 104,000[4]

On 3 November 2012, former children's book publisher and current Leader of London Borough of Lambeth Council, Councillor[5] Steve Reed was chosen to be the Labour candidate after a closely fought battle with London Assembly member Val Shawcross.[6]

Charity worker and social entrepreneur Andrew Stranack, who has cerebral palsy,[7] is the Conservative party candidate.[8]

On 17 October 2012, IT professional and former London Borough of Islington Councillor Marisha Ray was selected as the prospective Liberal Democrats candidate.[9]

On 25 October, the Green Party chose local campaigner Shasha Khan, dubbed by local reporters as 'Croydon's Green Knight'[10]

Winston McKenzie, a perennial election candidate who was the UKIP candidate in Tottenham, an independent candidate at the 2003 Brent East by-election, Veritas Party nominee at Croydon North in 2005 and independent candidate for London Mayor has been chosen as the prospective candidate for the UK Independence Party.[8]

On 29 October, the Chair of the London Race and Criminal Justice Consortium and a former Senior Policy Advisor to the then Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, Lee Jasper, was selected as the candidate for the Respect Party.

On 17 October, The National Front confirmed their prospective candidate to be the former British National Party Deputy Chairman and engineer Richard Edmonds.[11]

2012 Croydon North by-election[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Steve Reed	15,892	64.7	+8.7
	Conservative	Andrew Stranack	4,137	16.8	-7.3
	UKIP	Winston McKenzie	1,400	5.7	+4.0
	Liberal Democrats	Marisha Ray	860	3.5	-10.5
	Green	Shasha Khan	855	3.5	+1.5
	Respect	Lee Jasper	707	2.9	+2.4
	Christian Peoples Alliance	Stephen Hammond	192	0.8	N/A
	National Front	Richard Edmonds	161	0.7	N/A
	Communist	Ben Stevenson	119	0.5	+0.2
	Monster Raving Loony	John Cartwright	110	0.4	N/A
	Nine Eleven Was An Inside Job	Simon Lane	66	0.3	N/A
	Young People's	Robin Smith	63	0.3	N/A
Majority			11,755	47.9	+16.0
Turnout			24,562	26.5	-34.1
Rejected ballots			112	0.1	N/A
Registered electors			93,036
	Labour hold		Swing	+8.0

Previous result

General election 2010: Croydon North[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Malcolm Wicks	28,947	56.0	+2.4
	Conservative	Jason Hadden	12,466	24.1	+1.9
	Liberal Democrats	Gerry Jerome	7,226	14.0	−3.2
	Green	Shasha Khan	1,017	2.0	−0.9
	UKIP	Jonathan Serter	891	1.7	+0.0
	Christian	Novlette Williams	586	1.1	N/A
	Respect	Mohommad Shaikh	272	0.5	N/A
	Communist	Ben Stevenson	160	0.3	N/A
	Independent	Mohamed Seyed	111	0.2	N/A
Majority			16,481	31.9	+0.5
Turnout			51,676	60.6	+8.0
Registered electors			85,216
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.3

See also

• 1940 Croydon North by-election
• 1948 Croydon North by-election
• List of United Kingdom by-elections
• Opinion polling for the next United Kingdom general election

References

1. "Labour MP Malcolm Wicks dies at 65". Jersey Evening Post. 29 September 2012.
2. Davies, Gareth. "Labour hits campaign trail as Croydon North by-election pencilled in for November 29". This is Croydon. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
3. http://www.croydon.gov.uk/contents/departments/democracy/pdf/599154/Croydon_North_2012-11-29/Statementpersonsnominatedandpoll.pdf%5B%5D
4. Croydon by-election will set a record of sorts Andrew Pelling
5. Profile Steve Reed Archived 2010-05-16 at the Wayback Machine London Borough of Lambeth
6. "Archived copy". Croydon Advertiser. London. 3 November 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-01-14. Retrieved 2012-11-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
7. Tory candidate's life on the poverty line on a deprived estate The Guardian
8. "Tories choose Stranack to contest Croydon North seat". 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2012-10-19.
9. Duffett, Helen. "Marisha Ray selected for Lib Dems in Croydon North". LibDemvoice. Retrieved 2012-10-18.
10. Croydon Greens: Green Knight selected Croydon Green Party
11. Cotterill, Mark. "100 nationalists attend JT memorial event in Preston". Retrieved 2012-10-18.
12. Croydon North by-election: Labour's Steve Reed secures win BBC News, 30 November 2012
13. Parliamentary election results 2010, Croydon North Archived 2011-08-07 at the Wayback Machine Croydon Council