Newcastle-under-Lyme by-election, 1986
Encyclopedia
The Newcastle-under-Lyme by-election, 1986 was a parliamentary by-election
held on 17 July 1986 for the British House of Commons
constituency
of Newcastle-under-Lyme
.
Member of Parliament (MP), John Golding
(9 March 1931 – 20 January 1999) resigned his seat to become a trade union leader. He did this by being appointed Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, a notional offices of profit under the Crown, which is used to permit MPs to vacate their seats.
John Golding had been an MP since the 1969 by-election
in the seat. He was appointed as General Secretary of the National Communications Union
in 1986 and retained that office until 1988.
1. Representing the Labour Party was the former MPs wife, Llinos Golding
(born 21 March 1933). She had worked as a radiographer for twelve years. She then became a member of the North Staffordshire Health Authority. Her father was the late Ness Edwards
, who had been a Labour MP and Minister.
Mrs Golding was the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Newcastle-under-Lyme
from 1986 to 2001. After stepping down at the 2001 general election
she was created a Life peer
as Baroness Golding, of Newcastle-under-Lyme in the County of Staffordshire
in the same year.
2. The Liberal Party candidate, representing the SDP-Liberal Alliance
, was Alan Lindley Thomas. He was the Alliance group leader on both Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council. He was a lecturer in computing and was aged 46 at the time of the by-election. He had contested the seat of Stoke-on-Trent Central in the October 1974 and 1979 general elections, as well as the Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency in the 1983 general election.
3. The Conservative candidate was James Charles Barton Nock, a senior partner in a hotel development in Kent. Nock was aged 51 in 1976. He had been a member of Canterbury City Council since 1978 and was Leader of the Council at the time of the by-election.
5. David Edward Sutch (more commonly known as Screaming Lord Sutch
) (10 November 1940 – 16 June 1999), was a pop singer and frequent participant in elections. He represented the Official Monster Raving Loony Party
at this by-election. This was the twelfth parliamentary election Sutch had been a candidate at.
5. John Alan Gaskell was an Independent, using the ballot paper label "Rainbow Alliance Prince Charles Appreciation Party".
6. James Parker was an Independent candidate, using the ballot paper description "Referendum on Nuclear Energy".
7. David D'Arcy Brewster was another Independent candidate, using the ballot paper label "Rainbow Alliance Bob Geldof Appreciation Party".
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held on 17 July 1986 for the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
constituency
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
of Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme (UK Parliament constituency)
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- History :...
.
Previous MP
The seat had become vacant on 24 June 1986. The constituency's LabourLabour 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...
Member of Parliament (MP), John Golding
John Golding (British politician)
John Golding was a Labour Party politician and Trade Union leader in the United Kingdom.He was educated at Chester Grammar School, Keele University and the London School of Economics...
(9 March 1931 – 20 January 1999) resigned his seat to become a trade union leader. He did this by being appointed Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, a notional offices of profit under the Crown, which is used to permit MPs to vacate their seats.
John Golding had been an MP since the 1969 by-election
Newcastle-under-Lyme by-election, 1969
The Newcastle-under-Lyme by-election of October 30, 1969 was caused by the death of Labour MP Stephen Swingler. It was held on the same day as four other by-elections and the seat was retained by Labour.-Results:...
in the seat. He was appointed as General Secretary of the National Communications Union
National Communications Union
The National Communications Union was a trade union in the United Kingdom.The union was founded in 1985 when the Post Office Engineering Union and the Postal and Telecommunications Group of the Civil and Public Services Association merged...
in 1986 and retained that office until 1988.
Candidates
Seven candidates were nominated. The list below is set out in descending order of the number of votes received at the by-election.1. Representing the Labour Party was the former MPs wife, Llinos Golding
Llin Golding, Baroness Golding
Llinos "Llin" Golding, Baroness Golding is a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom who currently sits in the House of Lords...
(born 21 March 1933). She had worked as a radiographer for twelve years. She then became a member of the North Staffordshire Health Authority. Her father was the late Ness Edwards
Ness Edwards
Onesimus Edwards was a Welsh Labour Party politician.A trade unionist, Ness Edwards was imprisoned in 1917 as a conscientious objector to the conscription of the First World War. He was elected Member of Parliament for Caerphilly at a by-election in 1939 following the death of Labour MP and...
, who had been a Labour MP and Minister.
Mrs Golding was the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme (UK Parliament constituency)
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- History :...
from 1986 to 2001. After stepping down at the 2001 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
she was created a Life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
as Baroness Golding, of Newcastle-under-Lyme in the County of Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
in the same year.
2. The Liberal Party candidate, representing the SDP-Liberal Alliance
SDP-Liberal Alliance
The SDP–Liberal Alliance was an electoral pact formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom which was in existence from 1981 to 1988, when the bulk of the two parties merged to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, later referred to as simply the Liberal...
, was Alan Lindley Thomas. He was the Alliance group leader on both Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council. He was a lecturer in computing and was aged 46 at the time of the by-election. He had contested the seat of Stoke-on-Trent Central in the October 1974 and 1979 general elections, as well as the Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency in the 1983 general election.
3. The Conservative candidate was James Charles Barton Nock, a senior partner in a hotel development in Kent. Nock was aged 51 in 1976. He had been a member of Canterbury City Council since 1978 and was Leader of the Council at the time of the by-election.
5. David Edward Sutch (more commonly known as Screaming Lord Sutch
Screaming Lord Sutch
David Edward Sutch , also known as "Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow", or simply "Screaming Lord Sutch", was a musician from the United Kingdom...
) (10 November 1940 – 16 June 1999), was a pop singer and frequent participant in elections. He represented the Official Monster Raving Loony Party
Official Monster Raving Loony Party
The Official Monster Raving Loony Party is a registered political party established in the United Kingdom in 1983 by musician and politician David Sutch , better known as Screaming Lord Sutch.-History:...
at this by-election. This was the twelfth parliamentary election Sutch had been a candidate at.
5. John Alan Gaskell was an Independent, using the ballot paper label "Rainbow Alliance Prince Charles Appreciation Party".
6. James Parker was an Independent candidate, using the ballot paper description "Referendum on Nuclear Energy".
7. David D'Arcy Brewster was another Independent candidate, using the ballot paper label "Rainbow Alliance Bob Geldof Appreciation Party".
Votes
See also
- Newcastle-under-Lyme constituencyNewcastle-under-Lyme (UK Parliament constituency)Newcastle-under-Lyme is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- History :...
- List of United Kingdom by-elections
- United Kingdom by-election recordsUnited Kingdom by-election recordsUK by-election records is an annotated list of notable records from UK Parliamentary by-elections. A by-election occurs when a Member of Parliament resigns, dies, or is disqualified or expelled, and an election is held to fill the vacant seat...
Source
- Britain Votes/Europe Votes By-Election Supplement 1983-, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Research Services 1985)