The by-election in Peterborough was held following the Recall of the MP Fiona Onasanya who was convicted of lying over a speeding offence and thrown out of the Labour Party.
The Recall of MPs Act 2015 introduced a process by which an MP can lose their seat in the House of Commons if there is a successful petition to recall them.
Turnout at the election was 48.4%, down from 67.5% in the 2017 General Election when Labour beat the Conservatives by 607 votes after the Conservatives had held the seat for 12 years.
Although having been formed less than 2 months ago, expectations were high that the Brexit Party would gain the seat, following their recent success in the European Elections, and based on the fact that Peterborough had backed leaving the EU by 61% to 39%.
The result was close and Labour managed to retain the seat by 683 votes from the Brexit Party candidate.
However, Labour’s share of the vote dropped by 17% from the previous election in 2017, so they should not be too complacent about their victory. The Conservative share of the vote dropped by a massive 25%. The Liberal Democrat share increased by 9%.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | +/-% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Lisa Forbes | 10,484 | 31% | -17% |
| Brexit Party | Mike Greene | 9,801 | 29% | +29% |
| Conservative | Paul Bristow | 7,243 | 21% | -25% |
| Liberal Democrats | Beki Sellick | 4,159 | 12% | +9% |
| Green | Joseph Wells | 1,035 | 3% | +1% |
| UKIP | John Whitby | 400 | 1% | +1% |
| Others | (9 Candidates) | 798 | 2% | +2% |
In the 2017 election results were:
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Fiona Onasanya | 22,950 | 48.1% |
| Conservative | Stewart Jackson | 22,343 | 46.8% |
| Liberal Democrats | Beki Sellick | 1,597 | 3.3% |
| Green | Fiona Radic | 848 | 1.8% |
