1999 Wigan by-election

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

1999 Wigan by-election

23 September 1999

Candidate Neil Turner Tom Peet Party Labour Conservative Popular vote 9,641 2,912 Percentage 59.6% 18.0% Swing 15.1pp 1.1pp   Candidate Jonathan Rule John Whittaker Party Liberal Democrats UKIP Popular vote 2,148 834 Percentage 13.3% 5.2% Swing 13.3pp New

MP before election Roger Stott Labour Elected MP Neil Turner Labour

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	New
	Socialist Labour	William Kelly	240	1.5	New
	Green	Chris Maile	190	1.2	0.2
	National Democrats	Stephen Ebbs	100	0.6	New
	Natural Law	Paul Davis	64	0.4	0.2
	Independent	David Braid	58	0.4	New
Majority			6,729	41.6	10.1
Turnout			16,187	25.0	42.7
	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.