Tottenham by-election, 2000

The Labour Member of Parliament for Tottenham, Bernie Grant, died on 8 April 2000, creating a by-election in his constituency.

Grant was one of the first four black MPs and the constituency was one of the centres of the London Afro-Caribbean community. However, Grant's widow Sharon (who was white) declared her intention to seek selection and this split opinion within the local Labour Party. Both Sharon and Bernie Grant had been on the left-wing of the party whereas the leading black contender for the nomination, David Lammy, was a supporter of Tony Blair. After a close-fought selection battle, Lammy was chosen. During the campaign, Sharon Grant made a public show of supporting his election campaign in order not to allow disunity in the Labour Party.

Polling day in the by-election was on 22 June. David Lammy comfortably retained the seat for Labour on a low turnout. Neither of the other main party candidates was able to mount a credible challenge in a seat where Labour was so strongly ahead, with Liberal Democrat candidate and future Chippenham MP Duncan Hames finishing second, and Conservative candidate and future Battersea MP Jane Ellison coming third.

Results

Tottenham by-election, 2000[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour David Lammy 8,785 53.5 -15.8
Liberal Democrat Duncan Hames 3,139 19.1 +7.3
Conservative Jane Ellison 2,634 16.0 +0.3
Socialist Alliance Weyman Bennett 885 5.4 N/A
Green Peter Budge 606 3.7 +0.9
Reform 2000 Erol Basarik 177 1.1 N/A
UKIP Ashwinkumar Tanna 136 0.8 N/A
Independent Conservative Dorian de Braâm 55 0.3 N/A
Majority 5,646 34.4 -19.2
Turnout 16,417 25.4
Labour hold Swing

General Election result, 1997

General Election 1997: Tottenham
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Bernie Grant 26,121 69.3
Conservative Andrew Scantlebury 5,921 15.7
Liberal Democrat Neil Hughes 4,064 10.8
Green Peter Budge 1,059 2.8
ProLife Alliance Leelan Tay 210 0.5
Workers Revolutionary Christopher Anglin 181 0.5
Socialist Equality Tania Kent 148 0.4
Majority 20,200 53.6
Turnout 37,704
Labour hold Swing

References

  1. Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1997-2002 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 2015-10-05.
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