1991 Ribble Valley by-election

The Ribble Valley by-election, in Lancashire, England, took place on 7 March 1991 following the elevation of MP David Waddington to the House of Lords. Michael Carr of the Liberal Democrats won election at his third attempt.

1991 Ribble Valley by-election

← 1987 7 March 1991 1992 →
Constituency of Ribble Valley
Turnout	71.1% ( 8.0%)
First party Second party Third party   LD Con Lab Candidate Michael Carr Nigel Evans Josie Farrington Party Liberal Democrats Conservative Labour Popular vote 22,377 17,776 4,356 Percentage 48.5% 38.5% 9.5% Swing 27.1% 22.3% 8.3%
MP before election David Waddington Conservative Subsequent MP Michael Carr Liberal Democrats

The seat, based largely on the market town of Clitheroe, had previously been safely Conservative but at the time Margaret Thatcher's controversial "Poll Tax" policy was used by opposition parties against the Conservative candidate. The tax was abolished soon afterwards by Thatcher's successor John Major, who had succeeded Thatcher on her resignation in November 1990.

The then-young Liberal Democrats maintained the record of their parent parties at often scoring by-election "scalps" by winning apparently-safe seats, although rarely holding them at subsequent general elections. Indeed, despite their victory at Ribble Valley, the Lib Dems lost the seat a little over a year later at the 1992 general election to the Conservative Nigel Evans who held the seat until the 2024 General Election.

Result

Ribble Valley by-election, 1991^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Carr	22,377	48.5	+27.1
	Conservative	Nigel Evans	17,776	38.5	−22.3
	Labour	Josephine Farrington	4,356	9.5	−8.3
	Ind. Conservative	David Brass	611	1.3	N/A
	Green	Halldora Ingham	466	1.0	N/A
	Monster Raving Loony	Screaming Lord Sutch	278	0.6	N/A
	Liberal	Simon Taylor	133	0.3	N/A
	Corrective Party	Lindi St Claire	72	0.2	N/A
	Raving Loony Green Giant Clitheroe Kid	Stuart Hughes	60	0.1	N/A
Majority			4,601	10.0	N/A
Turnout			46,129	71.1	N/A
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	24.7

Previous results

General election 1987: Ribble Valley^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Waddington	30,136	60.9	―2.5
	SDP	Michael Carr	10,608	21.4	―1.7
	Labour	Greg Pope	8,781	17.7	+4.2
Majority			19,528	39.5	―0.8
Turnout			49,525	79.1	+2.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	―0.4

See also

• Lists of United Kingdom by-elections
• List of parliamentary constituencies in Lancashire