2001 Ipswich by-election
UK parliamentary by-election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Ipswich was held on 22 November 2001 following the death of incumbent Labour Party MP Jamie Cann. It was won by Chris Mole, who held the seat for Labour.
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22 November 2001
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It was first of six by-elections which took place during the 2001–2005 parliament.
With Labour still basking in the glow of their landslide general election victory just five months earlier, no opposition party was able to mount an effective challenge. The Liberal Democrats improved their position somewhat but remained in third place, and Mole was returned with a majority of over 4,000 votes.
The declaration broke with tradition by using live computer images, club music and lasers after the result was announced.[1][2][3]
Background
Sitting member of Parliament (MP), Jamie Cann of the Labour Party, died on 15 October 2001, thus triggering a by-election to fill the seat. Cann had been MP for Ipswich since 1992.
Result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Chris Mole | 11,881 | 43.4 | −8.0 | |
| Conservative | Paul West | 7,794 | 28.4 | −2.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Tessa Munt | 6,146 | 22.4 | +7.2 | |
| CPA | David Coope | 581 | 2.1 | New | |
| UKIP | Jonathan Wright | 276 | 1.0 | −0.6 | |
| Green | Tony Slade | 255 | 0.9 | New | |
| Legalise Cannabis | John Ramirez | 236 | 0.9 | New | |
| Socialist Alliance | Peter Leach | 152 | 0.6 | −0.2 | |
| English Independence | Nicolas Winskill | 84 | 0.3 | New | |
| Majority | 4,087 | 14.9 | −5.8 | ||
| Turnout | 27,405 | 40.2 | −16.8 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | -5.9 | |||
Previous result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Jamie Cann | 19,952 | 51.3 | −1.4 | |
| Conservative | Edward Wild | 11,871 | 30.5 | −0.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Terence Gilbert | 5,904 | 15.2 | +3.0 | |
| UKIP | William Vinyard | 624 | 1.6 | +1.2 | |
| Socialist Alliance | Peter Leach | 305 | 0.8 | New | |
| Socialist Labour | Shaun Gratton | 217 | 0.6 | New | |
| Majority | 8,081 | 20.8 | −0.8 | ||
| Turnout | 38,873 | 57.0 | −15.2 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | -0.8 | |||