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Two Bootle by-elections were held during 1990, for the
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constituency of
Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. It is pa ...
in
Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...
. Bootle was one of the Labour Party's safest seats, having held the seat since
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.


May by-election

The first by-election was caused by the death of Labour MP Allan Roberts, on 21 March 1990. Roberts had held the seat since the 1979 general election, and his majority had remained over 15,000 votes; even at the 1983 general election, which was a landslide victory for the Conservative Party. At the 1987 general election, Roberts' majority had increased to almost 25,000 votes. For the by-election, Labour selected Michael Carr, a full-time official for the
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, and a former Labour Party councillor. The Conservatives, who had consistently taken second place in the seat but was struggling in the national polls, nominated James Clappison, a
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from
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. He had unsuccessfully contested
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for the Conservative Party in 1987, and the
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constituency at the
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. The newly named Liberal Democrats had suffered in the national polls since their formation by a merger of the
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and the
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(SDP), and in Bootle they were challenged by both
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's continuing
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and Michael Meadowcroft's continuing
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, each consisting of members of the former
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parties who had rejected their merger. The
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also nominated a candidate.
Screaming Lord Sutch Screaming Lord Sutch (born David Edward Sutch, 10 November 1940 – 16 June 1999) was an English musician and perennial parliamentary candidate. He was the founder of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party and served as its leader from 1983 t ...
of the
Official Monster Raving Loony Party The Official Monster Raving Loony Party (OMRLP) is a political party established in the United Kingdom in 1982 by the musician David Sutch, also known as Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow, or simply Lord Sutch. It is notable for its de ...
and an
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rounded out the field. The Loonies gained publicity after the Labour Party
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unsuccessfully tried to get Sutch charged with having a
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as an election campaign headquarters. This had not been illegal since 1985. The election was held on 24 May. Despite having to contend with a large field of candidates, Carr increased the Labour vote, to win with more than three-quarters of all the votes cast. The Conservative vote halved, although they retained second place, as the Liberal Democrat vote could not match that of the SDP–Liberal Alliance in 1987. The Greens polled 3.6%, while the continuing Liberals fared poorly, and the continuing Social Democrats were beaten even by the Monster Raving Loonies. Sutch jokingly offered to form a coalition with them, and the party was wound up soon afterwards, but Holmes formed yet another
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...
of members who wished to continue.


November by-election

Carr died on 20 July, only 57 days after his by-election victory. A second by-election was called for 8 November. Labour nominated Joe Benton, the leader of Sefton Borough Council, a local Justice of the Peace and a personnel manager with
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. All the other parties nominated the same candidates as in May, except for the Social Democratic Party which did not participate (neither did the independent Schofield). The only addition to the field was David Black, a candidate in the previous year's
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and Vale of Glamorgan by-elections, standing as "Christian Alliance". On a low turnout of 39.7%, Benton increased the Labour Party majority again, taking 78.2% of the vote. The Conservative vote held steady, while all the other parties fell back. This allowed the Loonies to overtake the continuing Liberal Party. Benton remained as the Member of Parliament for Bootle until he retired in 2015, while Clappison was elected in
1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...
for
Hertsmere Hertsmere is a local government district with borough status in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Borehamwood. Other settlements in the borough include Bushey, Elstree, Radlett and Potters Bar. The borough contains several fi ...
; he too retired in 2015.


References


See also

* 1911 Bootle by-election {{By-elections to the 50th UK Parliament Bootle by-elections Bootle by-elections 1990s in Merseyside By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Merseyside constituencies Politics of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton Bootle by-elections Bootle by-elections Bootle