2006 Bromley and Chislehurst by-election
By-election due to death of MP
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A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Bromley and Chislehurst was held on 29 June 2006, following the death of incumbent Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Eric Forth. It was won by Bob Neill who held the seat for Conservatives, albeit narrowly; their majority was significantly reduced by Ben Abbotts of the Liberal Democrats.
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29 June 2006
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Bromley and Chislehurst parliamentary seat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 40.2% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Labour Party candidate was future Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, who was pushed into fourth place by UKIP candidate and future Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. This was only the second time Labour had fallen to fourth place in an English by-election since World War II.
Background and candidates
Sitting Conservative MP Eric Forth died on 17 May 2006. The writ to trigger a by-election in the seat was issued on 6 June.[1]
On 3 June, the local Conservative Association selected Bob Neill, the London Assembly Member for Bexley and Bromley and leader of the Conservative group in the Assembly.[2] The Liberal Democrats selected London Borough of Bromley councillor Ben Abbotts. He was the Liberal Democrat environment spokesman on Bromley Council.[3] Labour chose Rachel Reeves, runner-up in 2005, to stand once again.[2] The Green Party selected Ann Garrett as its candidate. Garrett stood as a Green Party candidate in the 2005 general election and the 2004 London Assembly elections.[4] The UK Independence Party selected Nigel Farage MEP, who represents South East England in the European Parliament. [5] The Official Monster Raving Loony Party selected John Cartwright. [6]
Two independent candidates were validly nominated: John Hemming-Clark and Nick Hadziannis. The English Democrats selected Steven Uncles[7] and candidates from the Money Reform Party and the National Front also ran. The Money Reform Party was a minor political party.
As per the Senior Electoral Officer of Bromley Council, the electorate for this by-election was 72,206, an increase of 1.50% from the 2005 election.
Result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Bob Neill | 11,621 | 40.0 | –11.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Ben Abbotts | 10,988 | 37.8 | +17.5 | |
| UKIP | Nigel Farage | 2,347 | 8.1 | +4.9 | |
| Labour | Rachel Reeves | 1,925 | 6.6 | –15.6 | |
| Green | Ann Garrett | 811 | 2.8 | –0.4 | |
| National Front | Paul Winnett | 476 | 1.6 | New | |
| Independent | John Hemming-Clark | 442 | 1.5 | New | |
| English Democrat | Steven Uncles | 212 | 0.7 | New | |
| Monster Raving Loony | John Cartwright | 132 | 0.5 | New | |
| Independent | Nick Hadziannis | 65 | 0.2 | New | |
| Money Reform | Anne Belsey | 33 | 0.1 | New | |
| Majority | 633 | 2.2 | –26.7 | ||
| Turnout | 29,012 | 40.2 | –24.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 71,798 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | –13.8 | |||
Previous result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Eric Forth | 23,583 | 51.1 | +1.6 | |
| Labour | Rachel Reeves | 10,241 | 22.2 | –6.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Peter Brooks | 9,368 | 20.3 | +1.4 | |
| UKIP | David Hooper | 1,475 | 3.2 | +0.3 | |
| Green | Ann Garrett | 1,470 | 3.2 | New | |
| Majority | 13,342 | 28.9 | +8.0 | ||
| Turnout | 46,137 | 64.8 | +0.5 | ||
| Registered electors | 71,137 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +4.0 | |||