Ribble Valley by-election, 1991
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The Ribble Valley by-election, in Lancashire, England, was called in 1991 following the elevation of United Kingdom MP David Waddington to the House of Lords.
The seat was a safe Conservative constituency, based largely on the market town of Clitheroe, but at the time the controversial Margaret Thatcher government policy of "Poll Tax" was used by opposition parties as a policy against the Conservative candidate.
The then young Liberal Democrats had only been formed three years earlier, but had scored by-election "scalps" by winning formerly safe seats, although these were rarely held at subsequent general elections. Indeed, despite their victory at Ribble Valley, the LibDems lost the seat less than a year later at the the next election
| Ribble Valley by-election, 1991 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal Democrats | Michael Carr | 22,377 | 48.5 | +27.1 | |
| Conservative | Nigel Evans | 17,776 | 38.5 | -22.3 | |
| Labour | Josephine Farrington | 4,356 | 9.5 | -8.3 | |
| Independent Conservative | David Brass | 611 | 1.3 | ||
| Green | Halldora Ingham | 466 | 1.0 | ||
| Monster Raving Loony | Screaming Lord Sutch | 278 | 0.6 | ||
| Liberal | Simon Taylor | 133 | 0.3 | ||
| Independent - Corrective Party | Lindi St Claire | 72 | 0.2 | ||
| Raving Loony Green Giant Clitheroe Kid | Stuart Hughes | 60 | 0.1 | ||
| Majority | 4,601 | 10.0 | |||
| Turnout | 46,129 | 71.1 | |||
| Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
[edit] Notes on Candidates
- Nigel Evans regained the Ribble Valley seat for the Conservatives in the 1992 election and has held it ever since.
- Michael Carr remains the only successful Liberal Democrat MP in the current boundaries of Lancashire
- The BBC Radio comedian Jimmy Clitheroe had a long-running series under the name The Clitheroe Kid during the 1950s and 1960s. Clitheroe is the main town in the constituency.
