A deputy leadership election for the Labour Party

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 took place in 1994, after the sudden death of incumbent leader John Smith

John Smith (UK politician)

John Smith was a British Labour Party politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party from July 1992 until his sudden death from a heart attack in May 1994...

. Margaret Beckett

Margaret Beckett

Margaret Mary Beckett is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Derby South since 1983, rising to become the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party under John Smith, from 18 July 1992 to 12 May 1994, and briefly serving as Leader of the Party following Smith's death...

 was the serving Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, having been elected in 1992

Labour Party (UK) leadership election, 1992

The Labour Party leadership election of 1992 followed the Labour Party's failure to win the 1992 general election and the subsequent resignation of party leader Neil Kinnock....

, and following Smith's death became the acting leader.

Elections were held concurrently for both Leader and Deputy Leader of the Party, with the results announced on 21 July 1994. There were three candidates for Leader: Margaret Beckett, Tony Blair

Tony Blair

Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...

 and John Prescott

John Prescott

John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott is a British politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. Born in Prestatyn, Wales, he represented Hull East as the Labour Member of Parliament from 1970 to 2010...

, but out of these three, only Blair did not simultaneously stand for Deputy Leader. Blair went on to win the leadership election, and Prescott won the deputy leadership. Both Prescott and Beckett held roles in Blair's cabinet for his entire time in office.

The election was conducted using the Labour Party's new "electoral college" which gave a third of the votes to the party's MPs and MEPs

MEPS

MEPS can refer to:* Military Entrance Processing Station* Marine Ecology Progress Series, a scientific journal dealing mostly with research in the field of marine ecology.* Methode d’Evaluation des Produits Securitaire “bancaires”...

, a third to its rank and file members (the CLP) and the final third to affiliated trade unions and societies, such as the Fabians.

Result

Electoral College Vote
Candidate		Votes
	John Prescott John Prescott John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott is a British politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. Born in Prestatyn, Wales, he represented Hull East as the Labour Member of Parliament from 1970 to 2010...	56.5%
	Margaret Beckett Margaret Beckett Margaret Mary Beckett is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Derby South since 1983, rising to become the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party under John Smith, from 18 July 1992 to 12 May 1994, and briefly serving as Leader of the Party following Smith's death...	43.5%
John Prescott elected