The result was a victory for the Liberal Democrat candidate David Bellotti, who defeated former Conservative MP Richard Hickmet by a majority of 4,550 votes and with more than half the votes cast. The loss came as a shock to many Conservatives who had expected (not least given the circumstances under which the by-election was held, as well as the fact that it had been retained by a majority of more than 16,000 votes in 1987) that they would retain the seat. Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe sent a message to voters saying that the IRA would be "toasting their success".[1]
It was a welcome success for the Liberal Democrats, formed in March 1988, after some disastrous early local and European election showings, as well as dismal showings in opinion polls. It came at a time when Conservative support was slumping and Labour was enjoying a comfortable lead in the opinion polls, largely due to the unpopular introduction of poll tax by the Conservative government.[2]
The Liberal Democrats, whose newly adopted party emblem was a 'bird of liberty', had been compared by Margaret Thatcher in a Conservative party conference speech on 12 October to a "dead parrot".[3] The shock defeat contributed to the end of Thatcher's premiership in November 1990 as Conservative MPs worried if they could hold their seats at a general election if she remained prime minister.[4]
1990, eastbourne, election, election, held, october, 1990, house, commons, constituency, eastbourne, east, sussex, 1987, october, 1990, 1992, constituency, eastbourneturnout60, first, party, second, party, third, party, candidate, david, bellotti, richard, hic. The 1990 Eastbourne by election was a by election held on 18 October 1990 for the House of Commons constituency of Eastbourne in East Sussex 1990 Eastbourne by election 1987 18 October 1990 1992 Constituency of EastbourneTurnout60 7 14 9 First party Second party Third party Candidate David Bellotti Richard Hickmet Charlotte AtkinsParty Liberal Democrats Conservative LabourPopular vote 23 415 18 865 2 308Percentage 50 8 41 0 5 0 Swing 21 1 18 9 3 8 MP before electionIan GowConservative Subsequent MP David BellottiLiberal Democrats This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations July 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message Contents 1 Background 2 Result 3 References 4 Bibliography 5 See alsoBackground EditThe by election was caused by the death of the town s Conservative Party Member of Parliament MP Ian Gow who was killed on 30 July 1990 by a bomb placed under his car by the Provisional IRA The result was a victory for the Liberal Democrat candidate David Bellotti who defeated former Conservative MP Richard Hickmet by a majority of 4 550 votes and with more than half the votes cast The loss came as a shock to many Conservatives who had expected not least given the circumstances under which the by election was held as well as the fact that it had been retained by a majority of more than 16 000 votes in 1987 that they would retain the seat Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe sent a message to voters saying that the IRA would be toasting their success 1 It was a welcome success for the Liberal Democrats formed in March 1988 after some disastrous early local and European election showings as well as dismal showings in opinion polls It came at a time when Conservative support was slumping and Labour was enjoying a comfortable lead in the opinion polls largely due to the unpopular introduction of poll tax by the Conservative government 2 The Liberal Democrats whose newly adopted party emblem was a bird of liberty had been compared by Margaret Thatcher in a Conservative party conference speech on 12 October to a dead parrot 3 The shock defeat contributed to the end of Thatcher s premiership in November 1990 as Conservative MPs worried if they could hold their seats at a general election if she remained prime minister 4 Result EditBy election 1990 Eastbourne 5 Party Candidate Votes Liberal Democrats David Bellotti 23 415 50 8 21 1Conservative Richard Hickmet 18 865 41 0 18 9Labour Charlotte Atkins 2 308 5 0 3 8Green David Aherne 553 1 2 0 4Liberal Theresia Williamson 526 1 1 N ACorrective Party Lady Whiplash 216 0 5 N ANational Front John McAuley 154 0 3Ironside Party Eric Page 35 0 1Majority 4 550 9 8 N ATurnout 46 072 60 7 14 9Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing 20 0References Edit The Guardian Ask Aristotle Andrew Roth 20 March 2001 Top Ten Lib Dem breakthrough moments ePolitix com 24 April 2010 Archived from the original on 12 May 2010 Retrieved 18 December 2010 Seldon Anthony Daniel Collings 2014 Britain under Thatcher Routledge p 59 Seldon Anthony Daniel Collings 2014 Britain under Thatcher Routledge p 60 Boothroyd David Results of Byelections in the 1987 92 Parliament United Kingdom Election Results Retrieved 1 October 2015 Bibliography EditBritish Parliamentary by elections Campaign literature from the by election UK General Election results June 1987 EastbourneSee also EditList of United Kingdom by elections Eastbourne constituency 1925 Eastbourne by election 1932 Eastbourne by election 1935 Eastbourne by election Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1990 Eastbourne by election amp oldid 1094775169, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
