2016 Tooting by-election
16 June 2016
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Tooting constituency | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 74,701 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 42.9% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Tooting was held on 16 June 2016, triggered by the resignation of incumbent Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) Sadiq Khan upon his election as Mayor of London. It was won by Rosena Allin-Khan of Labour, who held the seat with an increased majority for the party.
Candidates
Sitting MP Sadiq Khan was elected Mayor of London on 5 May 2016; as a result, he resigned his parliamentary seat on 9 May by appointment to the ancient office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of The Three Chiltern Hundreds, a customary practice in the UK which enables MPs to resign.
Rosena Allin-Khan, an accident and emergency doctor and deputy leader of the Labour group on Wandsworth Council, was the Labour candidate.[1]
Dan Watkins was the Conservative Party's candidate.[2] He was the 2015 candidate and is currently the party's spokesman for Tooting and a local campaigner for issues including for a local station on the planned Crossrail 2 railway.[3]
Esther Obiri-Darko was the Green Party's candidate. She also stood at the 2015 election.[4]
Alex Glassbrook, a local barrister and volunteer lawyer,[5] was the candidate for the Liberal Democrats.[6]
Elizabeth Jones, who had recently stood in the London Assembly election, stood for the UK Independence Party (UKIP).[7]
Des Coke stood for the Christian Peoples Alliance.[7]
Howling Laud Hope was the candidate of the Monster Raving Loony Party.[7][8]
There were three independent candidates: Zirwa Javaid, Zia Samadani and Smiley Smillie.[7] Ankit Love, who was a candidate in the London mayoral election, stood for One Love Party.[7] Akbar Ali Malik stood under the banner of the Immigrants Political Party.[7] Graham Moore stood for the English Democrats.[9] Bobby Smith, leader of Give Me Back Elmo and perennial election candidate, stood for his party.[7][8]
Former MP George Galloway had floated the idea of standing after his candidacy in the London mayoral election, but withdrew, citing fears of splitting the Labour vote and thus allowing the Conservatives to win.[10][11]
Result
A two minute silence was held during the count, to commemorate Jo Cox, the MP for Batley and Spen, who was assassinated on the day of the by-election.[12]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Rosena Allin-Khan | 17,894 | 55.9 | +8.7 | |
| Conservative | Dan Watkins | 11,537 | 36.1 | –5.8 | |
| Green | Esther Obiri-Darko | 830 | 2.6 | –1.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Alex Glassbrook | 820 | 2.6 | –1.4 | |
| UKIP | Elizabeth Jones | 507 | 1.6 | –1.3 | |
| CPA | Des Coke | 164 | 0.5 | New | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Alan "Howling Laud" Hope | 54 | 0.2 | New | |
| English Democrat | Graham Moore | 50 | 0.2 | New | |
| Immigrants Political Party | Akbar Ali Malik | 44 | 0.1 | New | |
| One Love | Ankit Love | 32 | 0.1 | New | |
| Independent | Zirwa Javaid | 30 | 0.1 | New | |
| Independent | Zia Samadani | 23 | 0.1 | New | |
| Give Me Back Elmo | Bobby Smith | 9 | 0.0 | New | |
| Independent | Smiley Smillie | 5 | 0.0 | New | |
| Majority | 6,357 | 19.8 | +14.5 | ||
| Turnout | 32,048 | 42.5 | –27.2 | ||
| Registered electors | 74,701 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | +7.3 | |||
Previous result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Sadiq Khan | 25,263 | 47.2 | +3.7 | |
| Conservative | Dan Watkins | 22,421 | 41.9 | +3.4 | |
| Green | Esther Obiri-Darko | 2,201 | 4.1 | +2.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Philip Ling | 2,107 | 3.9 | –10.9 | |
| UKIP | Przemek Skwirczyński | 1,537 | 2.9 | +1.6 | |
| Majority | 2,842 | 5.3 | +0.3 | ||
| Turnout | 53,529 | 69.7 | +1.1 | ||
| Registered electors | 76,782 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | +0.1 | |||
References
- ^ A&E doctor to fight Sadiq Khan's Tooting seat
- ^ "Conservatives set to appoint Dan Watkins as their candidate for Tooting by-election". Wandsworth Guardian. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- ^ "Crossrail 2: Tooting Broadway beats Balham as 2,000 have their say in survey". Wandsworth Guardian. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- ^ "Wandsworth Green Party | Esther Obiri-Darko For Tooting By Election". wandsworth.greenparty.org.uk. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- ^ "Liberal Democrats announce candidate for Tooting by-election". Wandsworth Guardian. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- ^ "Labour 'odds on to hold Tooting'", by Joe Murphy, Evening Standard, 19 May 2016, p. 6
- ^ a b c d e f g Taylor, Rebecca (20 May 2016). "Full candidate list for Tooting by-election announced". Wandsworth Times. London. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Junior doctor Rosena Allin-Khan selected as Labour's candidate for Tooting by-election". Your Local Guardian. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ^ "English Democrats announce candidate in Tooting by-election". Wandsworth Guardian. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- ^ Proto, Laura (16 May 2016). "George Galloway backs out of standing in Tooting by-election". Evening Standard. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ Murphy, Joe (10 May 2016). "Tooting by-election: George Galloway 'almost certain' to stand". Evening Standard. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ "Tooting by-election count holds two-minute silence for MP Jo Cox". BBC News. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- ^ Council, Wandsworth. "Tooting by-election candidate list published - News - Wandsworth Council". www.Wandsworth.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
- ^ Council, Wandsworth. "Tooting Constituency by-election result June 2016 - Tooting Constituency by-election result June 2016 - Wandsworth Council". www.Wandsworth.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ Council, Wandsworth. "Tooting Constituency - Parliamentary election results May 2015 - Wandsworth Council". www.wandsworth.gov.uk.
- ^ "Tooting parliamentary constituency - Election 2015 - BBC News". Retrieved 8 May 2017 – via www.BBC.co.uk.