A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Brent East was held on 18 September 2003, following the death of Labour Party MP Paul Daisley on 18 June that year. It was won by the Liberal Democrat candidate Sarah Teather, who gained the seat from Labour with a large swing of 29%.

Commentators linked the result to anger from traditional voters over the Iraq War, as well as to the private sector's involvement in public services. The Liberal Democrats would go on to hold the seat in the 2005 general election.

Result

The turnout was 36.23%. Liberal Democrat candidate Sarah Teather won with 39.12% of the vote, which was a swing of 29% from Labour. This was the largest swing from Labour to a Liberal or Liberal Democrat candidate since the Bermondsey by-election in 1983.

There were 109 spoilt ballots.

Previous result

Labour held the seat with 63.2% of the vote at the 2001 general election. The Liberal Democrats came third in the seat at that time, with only 10.6% of the vote.

Aftermath

Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy called the result "a big boost for British politics". He said, "We have shown that there is no such thing as a no-go area for the Liberal Democrats. In Britain's most diverse community, we have shown that we can speak for every section of society and the Liberal Democrat message is one they want to hear and support."

In The Independent, psephologist John Curtice stated that "the defeat is not simply a little local difficulty. The finger of blame lies with the [Labour] party nationally. And there are two obvious candidates – Iraq and the domestic agenda." He went on to say that, due to Brent East's substantial Muslim and ethnic minority population, "the war is likely to have been especially unpopular. And there are plenty of Labour MPs whose electoral fortunes depend in part on the votes of Britain's ethnic minority communities."

The Conservative candidate, Uma Fernandes, was a local councillor. Her daughter Suella Fernandes, a young lawyer who was also on the list of parliamentary candidates, had to be persuaded not to seek the nomination, and in the event campaigned for her mother. In 2015, Suella Fernandes was elected for Fareham.

References

  • British Parliamentary By Elections: Campaign literature from the by-election

See also

  • Lists of United Kingdom by-elections