Uxbridge by-election, 1997

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The Uxbridge by-election, 1997 was held after the Member of Parliament for Uxbridge, Sir Michael Shersby (Conservative), died unexpectedly on May 8, 1997, just seven days after his being returned in the 1997 General Election.

The by-election for the vacancy was held on July 31, 1997. The seat previously had seen Shersby win a narrow victory over Labour candidate David Williams in May, but Williams was not selected for the by-election candidate shortlist, as he was seen as too left-wing, and therefore unelectable, even though his supporters argued for the selection for this locally-based politician.^{[citation needed]} The Conservative Party selected John Randall, the Managing Directory of the century-old Randall's Furniture Store in Uxbridge. The Labour Party eventually chose Andy Slaughter, the Leader of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Council, over the Barrister Willie Bach from Nottinghamshire. Keith Kerr, a senior executive with British Airways, represented the Liberal Democrats.

Labour's concentrated campaign included an unusual visit by Prime Minister Tony Blair. This was unusual in that a sitting Prime Minister does not normally campaign personally in by-elections for fear that a defeat may harm his own political standing. In the end, the Conservative candidate was elected by a large majority, gaining over 50% of all votes cast, while the Labour and Liberal Democrat vote fell sharply.

[edit] Results

Uxbridge by-election, 1997
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Randall	16,288	51.1	+7.6
	Labour	Andy Slaughter	12,522	39.3	-2.5
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Kerr	1,792	5.6	-5.4
	Monster Raving Loony	Screaming Lord Sutch	396	1.3	N/A
	Socialist Alternative	Julia Leonard	259	0.8	-0.1
	British National	Frances Taylor	205	0.7	N/A
	National Democrats	Ian Anderson	157	0.5	N/A
	National Front	John McAuley	110	0.3	N/A
	Independent Liberal	Henry Middleton	69	0.2	N/A
	UK Independence	James Feisenberger	39	0.1	N/A
	Rainbow Dream Ticket	Ronnie Carroll	30	0.1	N/A
Majority			3,766
Turnout				55.2	-16.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1997: Uxbridge
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Shersby	18,095	43.5
	Labour	David Williams	17,371	41.8
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Malyan	4,528	10.9
	Referendum Party	Garrick Aird	1,153	2.8	N/A
	Socialist Alternative	Julia Leonard	398	1.0	N/A
Majority			724
Turnout				72.3
	Conservative hold		Swing