2016 Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough by-election
53°24′40″N 1°27′07″W / 53.411°N 1.452°W
5 May 2016
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Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough constituency Triggered by vacation of seat by incumbent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 33.2% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough was held on 5 May 2016, following the death of incumbent Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) Harry Harpham. It was won by Gill Furniss—Harpham's widow—also of Labour.
It took place on the same day as the 2016 Ogmore by-election and local elections across the UK.
Background and candidates
Harry Harpham had been the Labour Party MP for the seat since the 2015 general election; he died on 4 February 2016 after just nine months in office. The writ to trigger a by-election to fill the seat was moved on 24 March.[1]
Sheffield City Council published the statement of persons nominated on 8 April This showed that seven candidates would contest the by-election.[2]
The Labour candidate was Gill Furniss, a Sheffield city councillor and the widow of Harry Harpham. Furniss was previously the Labour candidate in Sheffield Hallam at the 2001 general election, where she came third.[3]
UKIP's candidate was Steven Winstone, a local metal trader and businessman. He focused his campaign on protecting jobs in the local steel industry. He had stood for the party in Sheffield South East in the 2015 general election, where he came second.[4]
The Conservatives selected Spencer Pitfield.
The Liberal Democrats selected Shaffaq Mohammed, a city councillor.[5]
The Green Party reselected Christine Gilligan Kubo, a lecturer at Sheffield Business School, and their candidate from the 2015 general election.[6]
Bobby Smith of the New Fathers 4 Justice campaign announced that he would stand in the by-election. He stood under the label "Give Me Back Elmo". He had contested the 2015 general election under the same description in Prime Minister David Cameron's Witney constituency, but took only 37 votes.[7] Smith, of Stevenage, also contested the borough council election in his home town on the same day as the by-election.[8]
Yorkshire First selected Stevie Manion.[9]
Result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Gill Furniss | 14,087 | 62.4 | +5.9 | |
| UKIP | Steven Winstone | 4,497 | 19.9 | –2.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Shaffaq Mohammed | 1,385 | 6.1 | +1.6 | |
| Conservative | Spencer Pitfield | 1,267 | 5.6 | –5.4 | |
| Green | Christine Gilligan Kubo | 938 | 4.2 | –0.1 | |
| Yorkshire First | Stevie Manion | 349 | 1.5 | New | |
| Give Me Back Elmo | Bobby Smith | 58 | 0.2 | New | |
| Majority | 9,590 | 42.5 | +8.8 | ||
| Turnout | 22,581 | 33.2 | –21.6 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +4.1 | |||
Previous result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Harry Harpham | 22,663 | 56.6 | +1.6 | |
| UKIP | John Booker | 8,856 | 22.1 | +18.0 | |
| Conservative | Elise Dünweber | 4,407 | 11.0 | –0.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jonathan Harston | 1,802 | 4.5 | –15.5 | |
| Green | Christine Gilligan Kubo | 1,712 | 4.3 | New | |
| TUSC | Maxine Bowler | 442 | 1.1 | –0.6 | |
| English Democrat | Justin Saxton | 171 | 0.4 | New | |
| Majority | 13,807 | 34.6 | –0.4 | ||
| Turnout | 40,053 | 54.8 | –2.3 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | –8.2 | |||
See also
Notes and references
- Notes
- References
- ^ "House of Commons Votes and Proceedings (Vote Bundle No. 139)". publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
- ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). Sheffield City Council. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- ^ "Harry Harpham's widow Gill Furniss chosen for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough". LabourList. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- ^ "UKIP announce Steve Winstone as the party candidate in Sheffield Brightside & Hillsborough". UKIP. Archived from the original on 23 May 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- ^ Moore, Alex (2 March 2016). "Lib Dems select Shaffaq Mohammed to fight for Brightside and Hillsborough seat". Sheffield Star. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- ^ Moore, Alex (3 March 2016). "Christine Gilligan Kubo chosen as Green Party candidate for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough". Sheffield Star. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- ^ Reed, James (23 February 2016). "Man dressed as Elmo bids to be a Sheffield MP". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- ^ "Chells Nomination Statement" (PDF). Stevenage Borough Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ^ "Yorkshire First announces candidate for Sheffield by-election". Yorkshire First. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
- ^ "Brightside and Hillsborough by-election result 2016". Sheffield City Council. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Sheffield Brightside & Hillsborough". BBC News. Retrieved 14 May 2015.