1984 Enfield Southgate by-election

The 1984 Enfield Southgate by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 13 December 1984 for the House of Commons constituency of Enfield Southgate.

Enfield Southgate by-election

13 December 1984

Candidate Michael Portillo Timothy Slack Peter Hamid Party Conservative Liberal Labour Popular vote 16,684 11,973 4,000 Percentage 49.6% 35.6% 11.9%

MP before election Anthony Berry Conservative Subsequent MP Michael Portillo Conservative

Previous MP

The seat had become vacant on 12 October 1984, when the constituency's Member of Parliament (MP) was killed by the Irish Republican Army in the Brighton hotel bombing.

Sir Anthony George Berry (12 February 1925 – 12 October 1984) was a Conservative MP for Enfield Southgate, and a Whip in Margaret Thatcher's government.

Sir Anthony Berry had been Southgate's MP since the 1964 general election. The constituency had been renamed Enfield Southgate in 1983.

Candidates

Given the reason for the by-election, there was some discussion about the Labour Party and the Alliance not contesting the poll. However, in the end both opposition forces were represented in the list of candidates.

Nine candidates were nominated. The list below is set out in descending order of the number of votes received at the by-election.

1. The Conservative candidate was Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo. Born in 1953, Portillo was a Special Adviser to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He had contested Birmingham Perry Barr in the 1983 general election.
   Portillo won the by-election and went on to become a prominent political figure. He was serving as Secretary of State for Defence, when defeated in this seat at the 1997 general election. Portillo subsequently represented Kensington and Chelsea (1999-2005) and was an unsuccessful candidate for the Conservative Party leadership (2001), before retiring from politics to pursue a media career.
2. The Liberal Party candidate, representing the SDP–Liberal Alliance, was Timothy Willatt Slack. He was a former headmaster, born in 1928, who was Director of the Foreign Office International Conference Centre. Slack had contested the seat of Petersfield at both general elections in 1974.
3. Representing the Labour Party was Winston Farouk Hamid (known as Peter Hamid). The Trinidad born Hamid was aged 52. He had lived in the UK for 31 years and was a member of Enfield Borough Council to which he had been elected in 1982.
4. Andreas Polydorou was an Independent, who ran as a Turkish Troops Out of Cyprus candidate.
5. Industrial chemist and Royal Navy veteran (1943-1946), James Wilfred Kershaw, stood on behalf of a far right group known as the Nationalist Party. Craig regarded Kershaw as a party candidate rather than an Independent.
6. Raymond Edwin Shenton was an English National Party candidate, who advocated a far right policy. Craig regarded Shenton as an Independent.
7. Iain Innes Burgess was an Independent candidate, whose ballot paper label was Abolish Greater London - Restore Middlesex Shire.
8. George Weiss stood for Captain Rainbow's Universal Party. Craig considered him an Independent.
9. Miss Helen Mary Anscomb was an Independent who used the label Death off Roads: Freight on Rail.

Result and votes

1984 Enfield Southgate by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Portillo	16,684	49.6	−8.5
	Liberal	Timothy Slack	11,973	35.6	+12.2
	Labour	Peter Hamid	4,000	11.9	−6.0
	Turkish Troops Out of Cyprus	Andreas Polydrou	687	2.0	New
	Nationalist Party	James Kershaw	80	0.2	New
	English National	Raymond Shenton	78	0.2	New
	Abolish Greater London, Restore Middlesex	Iain Burgess	50	0.2	New
	Captain Rainbow's Universal Party	George Weiss	48	0.2	New
	Death off Roads: Freight on Rail	Helen Anscomb	45	0.1	New
Majority			4,711	14.0	−20.7
Turnout			33,645	50.6	−19.0
Registered electors			66,473
	Conservative hold		Swing	−10.3

Previous general election result:

General Election 1983: Enfield Southgate

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Anthony Berry	26,451	58.1	−3.5
	Liberal	D Morgan	10,632	23.3	+9.3
	Labour	Mary Honeyball	8,132	17.9	−4.7
	BNP	M Braithwaite	318	0.7	New
Majority			15,819	34.8	−4.3
Turnout			51,365	69.6	−6.7
Registered electors			65,438
	Conservative hold		Swing

See also

• Enfield Southgate constituency
• List of United Kingdom by-elections (1979–2010)
• United Kingdom by-election records

Sources

• Britain Votes/Europe Votes By-Election Supplement 1983-, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Research Services 1985)