Forthcoming book: British by-elections 1769 to 2025

 

Iain Dale has put together a book about the 88 most consequential British by-elections since 1769. It will be published on 18th September 2025 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon at

British By-Elections 1769–2025: The 88 By-Election Campaigns That Shaped Our Politics: Amazon.co.uk: Dale, Iain: 9781785909788: Books

Or from Politicos (signed by Iain) at

British By-Elections 1769-2025 - The 88 By-Elections That Shook British Politics edited by Iain Dale COMING 18 SEPTEMBER | Politicos.co.uk

Let me declare an interest - I wrote the chapter on the Copeland by-election of 2017 in which, obviously I was a participant as part of the Conservative campaign team.

So I am an interested party, but I think this is a really interesting book.

I have been racking my brains trying to remember how many of these elections I personally took part in. There were at last a dozen from the Darlington by-election in 1983 where I remember telling in the snow, to the Runcorn & Helsby by-election earlier this year.

There were however, two by-elections in the book in which I actually had a vote and was involved in the Conservative campaigns from beginning to end: these were the Copeland by-election in 2017 and the Selby & Ainsty by-election in 2023.

As mentioned, I wrote the chapter in this book on the Copeland by-election; I can testify that Edward Young has written what I consider to be a fair and accurate account of the Selby and Ainsty by-election.   

Here is the list of by-elections covered in the book together with the name of the authorof the relevant chapter..

Middlesex 1769     Robin Eagles

Co Clare 1828     Richard Gaunt

Preston 1830     Gordon Pentland

Manchester Withington 1867     Peter Kellner

Colchester 1870     Luke Blaxill

Northampton 1884     Simon Barrow

Mid Lanark 1888     Baroness Pauiine Bryan

Oldham 1899     Alex Puffette

Barnard Castle 1903     David Laws

Norwich 1904     Duncan Brack

Colne Valley 1907     Gerard Hetherington

Manchester NW 1908     Pippa Caterall

North East Derbyshire 1914     Gordon Marsden

Merthyr Tydfil 1915     Sir Vernon Bogdanor

Clare East 1917     Richard Grayson

Spen Valley 1919     Roger Gough

Paisley 1920     Hugh Gault

Woolwich East 1921     Nan Sloane

Cardiganshire 1921     Russell Deacon

Newport 1922     Stephen Williams

Mitcham 1923     Lewis Baston

Westminster Abbey 1924     Lord Lexden

Smethwick 1926     James Bird

Westminster St George's 1931     Sir Robert Buckland

Fulham East 1933     T G Otte

Oxford 1938     Simon Heffer

Kinross & West Perthshire 1938     Amy Gray

Bridgwater 1938     Alun Evans

Maldon 1942     Will Timmins

West Derbyshire     James Heale

Motherwell & Wishaw 1945     Richard Finlay

Bournemouth 1945     David Hencke

Carmarthen 1957     Roger Awan-Scully

Torrington 1958     Michael McManus

Orpington 1962     Lord Norton

Bristol Souh East 1963     Lee Evans

Kinross & West Perthshire 1963     Andrew Holt

Stratford upon Avon 1963     Scarlett Maguire

Roxburgh, Selkirk & Peebles 1965     Sir Peter Riddell

Leyton 1965     Richard Johnson

Carmarthen 1966     Sam Blaxland

Kingston upon Hull North 1966     Nick Thomas-Symonds

Hamilton 1967     Mike Russell

Sutton & Cheam 1972     Connor Hand

Rochdale 1972     Alistair Burt

Lincoln 1973     Julia Langdon

Govan 1973     Gerry Hassan

Woolwich West 1975     Amber Whapshott

Walsall N 1976     John Barnes

Workington 1976     Michael Mullaney

Ashfield` 1977     Robert Waller

Grimsby 1977     John Bowers

Garscadden 1978     Mark Peel

Liverpiool Edge Hill 1979     Lord Chris Rennard

Fermanagh & South Tyrone x2 1981     Toby Harnden

Crosby 1981     Matthew Cole

Warrington 1981     Paul Linford

Glasgow Hillhead 1982     Andrew Marr

Bermondsey 1983     Sir John Curtice

Darlington 1983     Francis Beckett

Chesterfield 1984     Greg Rosen

Greenwich 1986     Nigel Fletcher

Govan 1988     Gerry Hassan

Eastbourne 1990     Tim Bale

Eastleigh 1993     Mark Garnett

Christchurch 1993     Michael Crick

Newbury 1993     Elinor Goodman

Dudley W 1994     Lucia Henwood

Winchester 1997     Jack Brown

South Antrim 2000     Richard Bullick

Brent East 2003     Joe Pike

Haltemprice & Howden 2008     Robert Evans

Glasgow East 2008     Lesley Orr

Crewe & Nantwich 2008     Lord Stephen Parkinson

Clacton 2014     Tim Shipman

Richmond Park 2016     Aggie Chambre

Batley & Spen 2016     Mathew Hulbert

Copeland 2017     Chris Whiteside

Hartlepool 2021     Alia Middleton

Batley & Spen 2021     Emma Burnell

Chesham & Amersham 2021     Rosie Campbell

North Shropshire 2021     Corey Froggatt

Southend West 2022     Iain Dale

Mid Bedfordshire 2023     Henry Riley

Selby & Ainsty 2023     Edward Young

Rutherglen 2023     Mark McGeoghegan

Rochdale 2024     Sunder Katwala

Runcorn - 2025     Harry Horton

You will notice that the authors cover a very wide range of viewpoints and experience, from political actors of every colour to pollsters and journalists, and I am honoured to be in their company.