Penrith and The Border by-election, 1983

The Penrith and The Border by-election, 1983 was a parliamentary by-election held on 28 July 1983 for the British House of Commons constituency of Penrith and The Border in Cumbria.

Vacancy

The seat had become vacant when the constituency's Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), William Whitelaw had been elevated to the peerage as Viscount Whitelaw. Whitelaw had had held the seat since the 1955 general election, and had been Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party since 1974, and Deputy Prime Minister since 1979, serving as Home Secretary from 1979 until his ennoblement and appointmement as Leader of the House of Lords.

Result

The result of the contest was a narrow victory for the Conservative candidate, David Maclean, who won with a majority of 552 over the SDP-Liberal Alliance candidate Michael Young.

Votes

Election box begin
title=Penrith and The Border by-election, 28 July 1983Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = David Maclean
votes = 17,530
percentage = 46.0
change = −12.8Election box candidate with party link
party = SDP-Liberal Alliance
candidate = Michael Young
votes = 16,978
percentage = 44.6
change = +16.7Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Lindsay Williams
votes = 2,834
percentage = 7.4
change = −5.8Election box candidate with party link
party = Official Monster Raving Loony Party
candidate = David Sutch
votes = 412
percentage = 1.1
change = N/AElection box candidate
party = Retired Naval Officer
candidate = Eric Morgan
votes = 150
percentage = 0.4
change = N/AElection box candidate
party = Death off Roads: Freight on Rail
candidate = Helen Anscomb
votes = 72
percentage = 0.2
change = N/AElection box candidate
party = Independent Socialist
candidate = John Connell
votes = 69
percentage = 0.2
change = N/AElection box candidate with party link
party = New Britain Party
candidate = Peter Smith
votes = 35
percentage = 0.1
change = N/AElection box majority
votes = 552
percentage = 1.4
change = −29.5Election box turnout
votes = 38,080
percentage = 55.9
change = −17.2Election box hold with party link
winner = Conservative Party (UK)
swing = −14.8

Election box begin
title=General Election, May 1983: Penrith and The BorderElection box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = William Whitelaw
votes = 29,304
percentage = 58.8
change = −2.4Election box candidate with party link
party = SDP-Liberal Alliance
candidate = Michael Young
votes = 13,883
percentage = 27.9
change = +11.4Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = W Williams
votes = 6,612
percentage = 13.3
change = −9.1Election box majority
votes = 15,421
percentage = 30.1
change = −8.7Election box turnout
votes = 49,799
percentage = 73.1
change = −3.9Election box hold with party link
winner = Conservative Party (UK)
swing =

References

* [http://www.geocities.com/by_elections/penrith83.html British Parliamentary by-elections: Penrith and the Border 1983]
*Rayment

ee also

* Penrith and the Border (UK Parliament constituency)
* Penrith
* List of United Kingdom by-elections