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2022 Birmingham Erdington by-election
A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Birmingham Erdington was held on 3 March 2022. It was triggered by the death of the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Jack Dromey on 7 January.[1][2] The winner was Paulette Hamilton, standing for Labour, who won 55.5% of the votes on a turnout of 27% of the electorate. This was the first by-election in a parliamentary constituency in Birmingham since the 2004 Birmingham Hodge Hill by-election. Background and voter registrationLabour has held Birmingham Erdington since the seat was re-established in 1974.[2] Dromey had been the MP for the constituency since 2010, being re-elected in 2015, 2017 and 2019. He died suddenly in his Birmingham flat on the Friday morning of 7 January 2022, according to a family statement. He had spoken in a House of Commons afternoon debate on the UK resettlement scheme for Afghan refugees the day before.[3][4] The writ was issued on 31 January. The deadline to register to vote was 00:00 GMT on 15 February, with applications for postal votes due by 17:00 GMT on 16 February.[5] CandidatesThe Labour Party candidate was Paulette Hamilton, who is Birmingham City Council's cabinet member for Health and Social Care. She was selected in a virtual hustings against Ashley Bertie, the former West Midlands deputy police and crime commissioner, receiving 82 votes to Bertie's 32.[6] The Conservative Party selected Robert Alden, who had contested the seat in the previous four general elections.[7] Reform UK (formerly the Brexit Party) selected Birmingham postman Jack Brookes.[5] The Liberal Democrats selected Lee Dargue, who works in the rail sector, occupational health and safety and environmental management.[5] The Green Party selected local businesswoman Siobhan Harper-Nunes as its candidate.[8] Michael Lutwyche stood as an independent. Lutwyche is a Justice-4-the-21 campaigner, supporting the victims of the Birmingham pub bombings.[9] Dave Nellist stood for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC). He was the Labour MP for Coventry South East from 1983 to 1992.[10][11] Nellist received support from the Breakthrough Party, the Northern Independence Party and Left Unity, who joined the TUSC on 20 January 2022 in the PAL - People's Alliance of the Left.[12] David Bishop was a satirical candidate. He said he was standing for serious policies, such as scrapping HS2 and saving public lavatories, as well as less serious ones, like legalising brothels with a 20% discount for pensioners.[13][14] This would be the last by election contested by David Bishop before his death in December 2022.[15] CampaignNear the end of the campaign, remarks made by Paulette Hamilton in 2015 were uncovered by GB News where she suggested she was torn between a democratic vote and an uprising to enable black people to get what "we really deserve in this country".[16] The comments led to calls from some Conservative MPs for her to be suspended by the Labour Party, who responded saying the remarks were taken out of context.[17] Results
Previous result
See alsoReferences
External links
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