2014 Clacton by-election

2014 Clacton by-election
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Clacton constituency
Turnout64.2%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Lab
Candidate Douglas Carswell Giles Watling Tim Young
Party UKIP Conservative Labour
Popular vote 21,113 8,709 3,957
Percentage 59.7% 24.6% 11.2%
Swing New Decrease28.4 pp Decrease13.8 pp
MP before election

Douglas Carswell
Conservative

Elected MP

Douglas Carswell
UKIP

On 9 October 2014, a by-election was held for the UK parliamentary constituency of Clacton in Essex, England.[1][2][3][4] The by-election was triggered by the Conservative MP for Clacton, Douglas Carswell, defecting to the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and subsequently resigning his seat to seek re-election as its candidate.[5]

Standing for UKIP, Carswell retained the seat with 59.7% of the vote, becoming UKIP's first elected MP. The Conservatives came second, and Labour third. According to John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, the result was the biggest increase in the share of a vote for any party in any by-election in history.[6]

  1. ^ "Chancellor makes Douglas Carswell's resignation official". Itv.com. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  2. ^ "Stuart Wheeler: More Tory defections to UKIP 'odds on'". BBC News. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  3. ^ Swinford, Steven (28 August 2014). "Douglas Carswell's shock defection to UKIP triggers by-election battle". Telegraph. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  4. ^ "ITV News Carswell and Farage in Clacton Ahead of by-election". Itv.com. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  5. ^ Watt, Nicholas (28 August 2014). "Tory MP Douglas Carswell defects to Ukip and forces byelection". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  6. ^ Pickard, Jim; Odell, Mark (10 October 2014). "Ukip surge sends tremors through Westminster". Financial Times. Retrieved 22 April 2020.