Conservatives win Crewe and Nantwich by-election
Friday, May 23, 2008
The Conservative Party's Edward Timpson has won the Crewe and Nantwich by-election in the United Kingdom with a majority of 7,860 votes. This is the party's first by-election victory in 26 years and party leader David Cameron visited the constituency earlier.
Labour Party candidate Tamsin Dunwoody said that the 17.6% swing was a "mid-term blip" and that the people of Crewe and Nantwich will be "watching" Mr. Timpson. However David Cameron proclaimed the result "the end of New Labour" calling the Conservatives' overturning of the 7,000 Labour majority "the start of something different and something bigger".
He criticised the Labour Party's campaign in Crewe and Nantwich, which had described the Conservative candidate as a "toff", as "negative", "xenophobic" and "class war" but said he realises the differences between by-election and general election results. The newly elected Mr. Timpson said in his victory speech that "I am going to stand up for local families, local jobs and, whenever I need to, stand up to the Government on your behalf."
Miss Dunwoody is confident of Gordon Brown's leadership, telling reporters earlier that "we know the Prime Minister can lead us through this." Labour's deputy leader Harriet Harman also defended Mr. Brown's position, saying that "the overwhelming majority of people in the Labour Party... are fully behind Gordon Brown."
Chris Huhne, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, defended his party's third-place result as "really rather robust" and said the people's votes were anti-Labour, not pro-Conservative. The UK Independence Party are pleased with the result, claiming that it confirms the party's position as "the fourth political force in the country" and their candidate Mike Nattrass said "this has been a stepping stone for the European elections next year."
Result
| Crewe and Nantwich by-election, 2008 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservatives | Edward Timpson | 20,539 | 49.5 | +16.9 | |
| Labour | Tamsin Dunwoody | 12,679 | 30.6 | –18.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Elizabeth Shenton | 6,040 | 14.6 | –4.0 | |
| UKIP | Mike Nattrass | 922 | 2.2 | n/a | |
| Green Party | Robert Smith | 359 | 0.9 | n/a | |
| English Democrats | David Roberts | 275 | 0.7 | n/a | |
| Monster Raving Loony | The Flying Brick | 236 | 0.6 | n/a | |
| Independent | Mark Walklate | 217 | 0.5 | n/a | |
| Cut Tax on Diesel and Petrol | Paul Thorogood | 118 | 0.3 | n/a | |
| Independent | Gemma Garrett | 113 | 0.3 | n/a | |
| Majority | 7,860 | 18.9 | +3.6 | ||
| Turnout | 41,856 | 58.2 | –1.8 | ||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | 17.6% | |||
Related news
- "Parties make final bids for Crewe and Nantwich voters" — Wikinews, May 21, 2008
Sources
- "UKIP fourth in Crewe by-election" — UKIP, May 23, 2008
- "Cameron hails 'end of New Labour'" — BBC News Online, May 23, 2008
- "Lib Dems defend election showing" — BBC News Online, May 23, 2008
- "By-Election Special - Dunwoody says loss is a 'mid-term blip'" — Crewe Guardian, May 23, 2008
- "Crushing Crewe by-election defeat for Labour" — The Mirror, May 23, 2008
