1999 Kensington and Chelsea by-election: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:33, 11 May 2005

Revision as of 15:35, 11 May 2005

Line 1:

The [[Member of Parliament]] for '''[[Kensington and Chelsea (UK Parliament constituency)|Kensington and Chelsea, London|Chelsea]]''', the Rt. Hon. [[Alan Clark]], ([[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]) died of a [[brain tumour]] on [[September 5]], [[1999]].

This was the first truly safe Conservative seat to have a byelection in the Parliament as well as the first in [[London]]. There was immediate speculation that [[Michael Portillo]], the most high-profile casualty of the [[United Kingdom general election, 1997|1997 general election]], would use it to return to frontline politics. Portillo immediately confirmed his interest in the seat, but was then confronted with the publication of an interview he had given previously that summer in which he had confirmed that while at [[Peterhouse, Cambridge]] he had had [[Homosexuality|homosexual]] affairs.