By-Elections

If a seat becomes vacant in the House of Commons before a General Election, then a parliamentary by-election must be held. Seats may become vacant if the MP:

• dies
• becomes a member of the House of Lords
• becomes ineligible to continue in office
• resigns

By tradition, the party that held the seat before the vacancy initiates the by-election (known as 'moving the writ').

By-elections often attract a great deal of media attention, and the results are often very different from those of general elections. This may be because of the following reasons:

• Fewer people tend to turn out to vote.
• Voters often use the opportunity to register a protest.
• As the result is unlikely to affect the governance of the nation, voters feel freer to elect smaller fringe parties.
• Voters tend to be more concerned with local issues rather than national issues.