1986 Ryedale by-election
1986 UK parliamentary by-election
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The 1986 Ryedale by-election took place on 8 May 1986. The election was held on the same day as the 1986 local elections and the West Derbyshire by-election
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8 May 1986
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Constituency of Ryedale | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 67.3% ( 4.5%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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It is the latest by-election to have just three candidates standing.
The seat was regained by the Conservatives the next year at the 1987 general election by John Greenway.
Background
In the spring of 1986 unemployment began rising at a greater rate than in previous years and the Conservative loss at Ryedale was a factor (according to Nigel Lawson) in "even committed supporters of the Government's economic strategy...insisting that reducing unemployment should now have priority".[1]
Result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal (Alliance) | Elizabeth Shields | 27,612 | 50.28 | +19.8 | |
| Conservative | Neil Balfour | 22,672 | 41.28 | −17.9 | |
| Labour | Shirley Haines | 4,633 | 8.44 | −1.9 | |
| Majority | 4,940 | 9.00 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 54,917 | 67.3 | −4.5 | ||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +19.0[3] | |||
Previous general election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Spence | 33,312 | 59.2 | ||
| Alliance (Liberal) | Elizabeth Shields | 17,170 | 30.5 | ||
| Labour | P Bloom | 5,816 | 10.3 | ||
| Majority | 16,142 | 28.7 | |||
| Turnout | 56,298 | 71.8 | |||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||