By-elections in the 2019–24 parliament

How many by-elections were held in the 2019–24 parliament?

There were 23 by-elections during the course of the last parliament, all held within the space of just three years. By comparison, there were just five between the 2017 and 2019 general elections.

While this is not an unusually large number by any historical standard – 30 by-elections were held between the October 1974 and 1979 general elections – it is unusual for so many to result from resignations for misconduct. Only two by-elections in that 1974–79 parliament resulted from misconduct, while some 17 resulted from the death of the incumbent MP.

What caused all of these by-elections?

Of the 23 by-elections:

• Five were triggered by the death of a sitting MP, including in Southend West following the murder of Sir David Amess.
• Four resulted from MPs resigning to take up other positions, including SNP MP Neil Gray, who resigned in 2021 to stand in the elections for the Scottish parliament, and Labour MP Rosie Cooper, who resigned to become chair of an NHS trust
• Three followed the fallout from the publication of the Privileges Committee report into Boris Johnson, including in Johnson’s own constituency and those of Johnson allies Nigel Adams and Nadine Dorries.
• One was held after Chris Skidmore resigned in opposition to the government’s Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, having previously announced that he was standing down from parliament at the next election.

The remaining 10 all occurred after resignations caused by misconduct:

• Five MPs, including Labour MP Mike Hill and former Conservative MP Chris Pincher, resigned following findings of sexual misconduct, and Conservative MP Neil Parish resigned after admitting to watching pornography in the chamber of the House of Commons. Peter Bone, former Conservative MP for Wellingborough, was recalled by his constituents following a finding that he had bullied and sexually harassed a staff member.
• Two other by-elections – those of Conservative MPs Owen Paterson and Scott Benton – came after breaches of lobbying rules.
• The Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election was held in October 2023 after former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier was recalled by her constituents following a finding that she had breached Covid lockdown laws.

What happened in recent by-elections?

Seven by-elections took place while Rishi Sunak was prime minister – five of which saw large Conservative majorities overturned by the opposition.

A by-election was held in Rutherglen and Hamilton West on 5 October 2023. The previous SNP MP, Margaret Ferrier, had been recalled by her constituents after she was suspended from the House of Commons for 30 days for breaking the Covid lockdown laws. Labour took the seat on a 20-point swing, overturning a previous SNP majority of more than 5,000 votes.

Two further by-elections took place on 19 October 2023 for the seats of Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth. These followed the resignations of Conservative MPs Nadine Dorries and Chris Pincher respectively. Dorries resigned from the Commons on 29 August 2023, having announced she was standing down ‘with immediate effect’ 11 weeks earlier. Pincher resigned in September after failing to get his suspension from the House of Commons for sexual misconduct overturned at appeal. Both seats were won by Labour, overturning large Conservative majorities.

By-elections were held in Wellingborough and in Kingswood on 15 February 2024. These followed the recall of Peter Bone and the resignation of Chris Skidmore, who were both elected as Conservative MPs. Bone was recalled after bullying and sexually harassing a staff member. Skidmore – a former energy minister – resigned in opposition to the government’s Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, having previously announced that he was standing down from parliament at the next election. Both seats were won by the Labour Party on large swings, overturning Conservative majorities of more than 18,000 and 11,000 votes respectively.

A by-election was also held in Rochdale on 29 February 2024 following the death of sitting Labour MP Tony Lloyd. Labour withdrew support for its candidate, Azhar Ali, shortly after nominations closed over comments he allegedly made about Israel and Jewish people. ⁴ Morton B and Francis S, ‘Labour withdraws support for Rochdale candidate Azhar Ali over Israel comments’, BBC News, 13 February, www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68280098  The seat was won by George Galloway, a former Labour, independent and Respect Party MP, now standing for the Workers Party of Britain. Rochdale is the fourth parliamentary constituency Galloway has represented (and the eighth he has contested).

The final by-election of the parliament was held in Blackpool South on 2 May 2024 following the resignation of the suspended Conservative MP Scott Benton. Benton had been subject to a recall petition after he was suspended from the Commons for breaching lobbying rules. He resigned four weeks before the petition was due to close. The seat was won by the Labour Party with a majority of more than 7,500 and saw the third largest swing to Labour (26.3%) of any parliamentary by-election.