Barnsley East by-election, 1996

The Barnsley East by-election was held on 12 December 1996, following the death of the Labour Party Member of Parliament Terry Patchett for Barnsley East, in South Yorkshire, England, on 11 October.

Barnsley council leader Jeff Ennis held the seat for Labour on an increased majority of 68% and more than three quarters of the votes, despite a low voter turnout. Despite a slight reduction in the vote for the Liberal Democrats, they overtook the Conservative Party for second place.

The Socialist Labour Party, on their leader Arthur Scargill's home territory, was able to save its deposit.

With the election of a new Labour MP, the Conservatives lost their Parliamentary majority.

Barnsley East by-election, 1996[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jeff Ennis	13,683	76.4	−0.8
	Liberal Democrat	David Willis	1,502	8.4	−0.2
	Conservative	Jane Ellison	1,299	7.3	−6.9
	Socialist Labour	Ken Capstick	949	5.3	N/A
	UKIP	Count Nikolai Tolstoy	378	2.1	N/A
	Socialist Equality	Julie Hyland	89	0.5	N/A
Majority			12,181	68.0	+5.0
Turnout				33.7	-39.0
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1992: Barnsley East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Terry Patchett	30,346	77.2	+2.7
	Conservative	John Proctor	5,569	14.2	+0.2
	Liberal Democrat	Sylvia Anginotti	3,399	8.6	−2.9
Majority			24,777	63.0	+2.5
Turnout				72.7	+0.1
	Labour hold		Swing

References

1. Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1992-97 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 2015-10-01.