The
Member of Parliament for
Kensington and Chelsea, The Rt. Hon
Alan Clark
Alan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark (13 April 1928 – 5 September 1999) was a British Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), author and diarist. He served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher's governments at the Departments of Employment, Tra ...
(
Conservative), died of a
brain tumour
A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondary ...
on 5 September 1999.
This was the first safe Conservative seat to have a by-election in the 1997–2001 UK Parliament. There was immediate speculation that
Michael Portillo, the
most high-profile casualty of the
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
Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...
he had had
homosexual
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
affairs.
Portillo was selected as Conservative candidate but faced demonstrations organised by
gay rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, , 3 ...
group
OutRage! and its principal campaigner
Peter Tatchell who protested against his vote for an unequal
age of consent
The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally claim ...
for gay and straight sex, and support for the ban on homosexuality in the UK armed forces while
Secretary of State for Defence. Tatchell continued to try to confront Portillo throughout the election, not assuaged by Portillo saying that he had changed his mind on the age of consent.
The
Labour Party selected Robert Atkinson, who had fought the
1997 election and was a local councillor. The
Liberal Democrats also renominated their general election candidate, Robert Woodthorpe Browne. Because of the prominence of the byelection in central London and the big political name, there were a wide variety of fringe and minor party candidates. Polling day was set for 25 November.
Michael Portillo returned safely to Parliament.
Results
General Election result, 1997
See also
*
Lists of United Kingdom by-elections
References
External links
Campaign literature from the by-election{{By-elections to the 52nd UK Parliament
Kensington and Chelsea,1999
Kensington and Chelsea,1999
Kensington and Chelsea by-election
Kensington and Chelsea by-election
Kensington and Chelsea by-election
20th century in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea