49-702: Bob Mellish Labour Simon Hughes Liberal A by-election was held in the Bermondsey constituency in South London , on 24 February 1983, following the resignation of Labour MP Bob Mellish . Peter Tatchell stood as the candidate for the Labour Party, and Simon Hughes stood for the Liberal Party . Following a bitter campaign, the Liberals made huge gains and took the seat, with
98-630: A barrister who had moved to the constituency earlier that year, to fight the by-election. The Conservatives chose Robert Hughes (no relation), who was a Greater London Council (GLC) councillor for Croydon Central . He later became the MP for Harrow West . Among those who applied for the Conservative nomination but were not chosen was Sara Keays , then having an as yet unrevealed affair with Cecil Parkinson . The right-wing former Labour leader of Southwark Borough Council , John O'Grady, who had been
147-557: A British passport—full stop. The government of Margaret Thatcher was keen to get a Labour figure to sit on the London Docklands Development Corporation as vice-chairman in 1980 but the Labour Party was entirely opposed to the creation of the LDDC and refused to nominate. Mellish offered a way through as he was willing to take the post; as a sitting MP he would lose his seat if the post was paid, so
196-646: A by-election if Tatchell was endorsed by the Labour Party nationally. Unexpectedly, Labour leader Michael Foot announced that Tatchell would never be endorsed "so far as I am concerned". However, by August 1982, it became clear that Tatchell would be permitted to stand if the Constituency Labour Party selected him again. In response, Mellish resigned from the Labour Party, a move that he later regretted according to Dalyell. In November, he resigned his seat in Parliament (by becoming Steward of
245-472: A debate on the commemorations for the fiftieth anniversary of Victory over Japan Day , Hugh Jenkins expressed "sorrow and regret" about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki . Mellish replied: While on board we heard that the war was over. I have never prayed so hard nor been so grateful for anything as I was for that atom bomb. It was the finest thing that ever happened that we should have dropped it on those villains. When we reached Port Swettenham ,
294-532: A lot of the blame for homophobic abuse laid on the press, "I take responsibility" for the actions of his organisers, adding: "I have never been comfortable about the whole of that campaign, as Peter knows, and I said that to him in the past. ... Where there were things that were inappropriate or wrong, I apologise for that." Tatchell, by then a member of the Green Party , said that he had forgiven Hughes, saying "Simon benefited from these dirty tricks, but that
343-591: A majority of votes cast. Labour's vote fell from 63.6 per cent in May 1979 to 26.1 per cent as Tatchell came a distant second, while the Conservative candidate, Robert Hughes , managed only fourth place, losing his deposit. With a swing of 44.2%, the 1983 Bermondsey by-election remains the largest by-election swing in British political history. Bob Mellish had represented the constituency and its predecessors in
392-682: A personal level with Foot, despite the great ideological differences between the two men) disliked Callaghan so much that he resigned from the cabinet within months of Wilson's own retirement. At one stage Mellish opened a speech by saying "As I come to this platform, many of you will know that I have never been an anti-racialist". In 1976 Mellish argued that the Malawi Asians expelled by Hastings Banda should not be allowed to live in Britain despite possessing British passports: We cannot go on like this. I do not care what those on this side of
441-700: A resolution was passed by the House of Commons making it illegal for an MP to quit or wilfully give up his seat. Believing that officers of the Crown could not remain impartial, the House passed a resolution on 30 December 1680 stating that an MP who "shall accept any Office, or Place of Profit, from the Crown, without the Leave of this House ... shall be expelled [from] this House." However, MPs were able to hold Crown Stewardships until 1740, when Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn
490-558: A special provision was made that it would be unpaid until the vice-chairman elected to take payment. Mellish's acceptance of a post with the LDDC exacerbated the split with the Bermondsey CLP which had elected a slate of left-wing officers at its annual meeting that same year. Mellish was against the shift to the Left in the Labour Party and decided not to stand for election again. Tam Dalyell later said that "Mellish's final years in
539-505: A target for the left-wing faction locally, also decided to stand under the banner 'Real Bermondsey Labour' with Bob Mellish's support and encouragement. His campaign was dominated by personal opposition to Tatchell and defence of his leadership of the council. Twelve other candidates stood, including Screaming Lord Sutch , appearing for the first time under the Official Monster Raving Loony Party label, and
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#1732783423664588-461: A tough Chief Whip. He was Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister for Housing and Local Government from Labour's victory in 1964 until 1967, then becoming Minister of Public Building and Works from 1967 until 1969. He became Minister for Housing and Local Government in 1970; however, this was now under Anthony Crosland as Secretary of State for Local Government and Regional Planning. Mellish
637-723: Is named after him. Chiltern Hundreds The Chiltern Hundreds is an ancient administrative area in Buckinghamshire , England, composed of three " hundreds " and lying partially within the Chiltern Hills . "Taking the Chiltern Hundreds" refers to one of the legal fictions used to effect resignation from the British House of Commons . Since Members of Parliament are not permitted to resign, they are instead appointed to an "office of profit under
686-500: Is not an endorsed member of the Labour Party and as far as I'm concerned never will be". Tony Benn wrote in his diary that many people, including himself, thought that Foot had confused Peter Tatchell with Peter Taaffe , then the leader of the Trotskyist Militant tendency , and Michael Crick in his book on Militant agrees that the fact that Tatchell and Taaffe have similar names contributed to public confusion between
735-486: The 1991 Liverpool Walton by-election . All candidates other than Liberal and Labour lost their deposits. Hughes would go on to represent Bermondsey and successor constituencies for the next 32 years, making him one of very few examples of MPs who took a formerly safe seat from another party and managed to hold it for a long period of time. The result for the previous election was: Bob Mellish Robert Joseph Mellish, Baron Mellish , PC (3 March 1913 – 9 May 1998)
784-579: The Dowager Lady Birdwood . Esmond Bevan intended to stand as an independent Labour candidate, but erroneously entered his occupation in the section on the nomination papers headed 'description', thus appearing on ballot papers as "Systems Designer". The Labour campaign started disastrously when it was discovered that the first leaflets had been printed at Cambridge Heath Press, owned by the Militant tendency (then practising entryism in
833-634: The House of Commons since 1946 . He was the Labour Chief Whip from 1969 until 1976, but had become disenchanted with the left-wing drift of the Labour Party. He resigned from the party in August and his Parliamentary seat in November 1982, amid much acrimony within the party. He had been in dispute with his constituency party for several years and had earlier threatened to resign if Peter Tatchell
882-580: The Manor of Northstead are still in use. A hundred is a traditional division of an English county : the Oxford English Dictionary says that the etymology is "exceedingly obscure". The three Chiltern Hundreds were Stoke Hundred , Desborough Hundred , and Burnham Hundred . The area had been Crown property as early as the 13th century. Through the Saxon and early Norman periods
931-596: The Minister of Supply , George Strauss , and then in 1951 as PPS to the Minister for Pensions , George Isaacs . He was also Chairman of the London Regional Labour Party from 1956 to 1977. Mellish was appointed by Harold Wilson as a Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip) which he held during Labour Governments from 1969 to 1970 and again from 1974 to 1976. He was renowned as
980-597: The Rotherhithe constituency was vacated. Most local opinion favoured Dr John Gillison who represented the area on the London County Council but Mellish was selected after the TGWU dockers' delegates voted for him en bloc . He easily won the constituency in a by-election in 1946 . This constituency was expanded in 1950 and named Bermondsey . In 1950 he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to
1029-515: The government of Elizabeth I had established royal representatives ( Justices of the Peace , Sheriffs , and Lords Lieutenant ) in every county of England and Wales ; they ensured that Royal commands and laws were obeyed. By the 17th century the office of steward and bailiff had been reduced to just a title with no attached powers or duties. In the 17th century Members of Parliament (MPs) were often elected against their will. On 2 March 1623,
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#17327834236641078-517: The Chiltern Hundreds ) and forced a 1983 by-election in which Mellish campaigned for O'Grady who stood as a Real Bermondsey Labour candidate. O'Grady performed badly at the by-election although Mellish did take some satisfaction from the heavy defeat of Tatchell by the Liberal candidate, Simon Hughes . Tatchell said in 2003, after Mellish's death, that Mellish was secretly bisexual and was "persistent" in propositioning Tatchell but warned him when he
1127-595: The Commons were dogged by controversy and beset with troubles in Bermondsey from hard-left ' yuppie ' incomers and the Militant tendency , people who were moons apart from the dockers who had selected him four decades earlier". He wanted his ally John O'Grady, Leader of Southwark Borough Council , to be selected in his stead but the constituency party selected Peter Tatchell , its secretary. Mellish made his discontent public and threatened to resign immediately and force
1176-482: The Crown", which requires MPs to vacate their seats. The ancient office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds , having been reduced to a mere sinecure by the 17th century, was first used by John Pitt (of Encombe) in 1751 to vacate his seat in the House of Commons. Other titles were also later used for the same purpose, but only those of the Chiltern Hundreds and the Crown Steward and Bailiff of
1225-561: The House, or the Opposition side or anywhere else, say. Problems at local level will become worse and worse for our own people unless something is done. All hon. Members know that people come to their surgeries describing the most distressing conditions—terrifying conditions. People born and bred in their own constituencies have been on the housing waiting list for as long as six years. But, on the points system, one must give immigrants preference...People cannot come here just because they have
1274-583: The Labour Party National Executive Committee, Tatchell was narrowly rejected as a candidate. Mellish was not reassured about the future direction of the Labour Party and resigned from it on 2 August 1982, a clear preliminary to resigning his seat, which he did by taking the Chiltern Hundreds on 1 November that year. The left wing of the Labour Party agreed Tatchell would be eligible for selection, and Tatchell
1323-427: The Labour Party, made homophobic comments about Tatchell. Widespread graffiti throughout the constituency referred to him in derogatory terms, while some of those putting up posters in his support found their windows attacked. Tatchell received hate mail, including a live cartridge, and was attacked when out in the street. Some of the other by-election candidates joined in: John O'Grady ( Southwark Council leader, who
1372-488: The Labour Party; a group whose five key members were expelled two days before polling day). The leaflets were all pulped and reprinted, but the cost of the first printing still counted against the limit for election spending. There was much controversy over Tatchell's homosexuality. The Labour Party persuaded Tatchell to keep quiet about his sexual orientation, although he had previously declared himself 'out'. Various campaigners for opposition candidates, as well as many within
1421-460: The Labour party were also hostile to Tatchell on the grounds both of his politics and his sexuality. He would later recall: "Subjected to 15 months of media smears, anti-gay violence and sabotage by the right of the party, I lost what had been a safe Labour seat." In an interview with Simon Edge of The Independent published on 17 December 1996, the former Liberal Party Chief Executive, Andy Ellis,
1470-461: The Liberal candidate as the one most likely to beat Labour. The Liberals made huge gains and took the seat, with a majority of votes cast. Labour's vote fell from 63.6 per cent in May 1979 to 26.1 per cent as Tatchell came a distant second, while O'Grady took third. The Conservatives managed only fourth place, for the first time since the 1974 Newham South by-election , and the last in Britain until
1519-466: The Liberal candidate began to move into a clear second position and the other candidates faded. Later in the campaign, there were rumours which claimed that the right-wing of the Labour Party nationally wished to lose the seat, as it would prove that left-wing Labour candidates were unelectable. By the eve of poll, it was clear that large numbers of previously Labour voters were defecting to other parties, and that non-Labour voters were lining up in support of
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1568-482: The MP was turn up at the count". During the by-election, members of the Liberal Party were accused of having joined in homophobic attacks on Tatchell. Male Liberal canvassers were seen wearing badges reading "I've been kissed by Peter Tatchell", although this seems to have been a poor taste joke by gay members of the Liberal Party. While this was criticised by Roy Hattersley at a news conference, elements of
1617-513: The area was administered by an elder. But by the late Middle Ages the office holder was elected from among a hundred's notable landholding families. As the area was wild and notorious for outlaws, a steward and bailiff was appointed directly by the Crown (thus as a royal bailiwick it was a legal office answerable to the reigning monarch) to maintain law and order. However, by the end of the 16th century such positions had been overtaken by changes in local and Crown representations and roles –
1666-644: The government's right to rule". This call to civil disobedience was considered a call to violent action by some, and was used "as a stick to beat [Tatchell] with" by political opponents. For example, the article came to the attention of James Wellbeloved , a former London Labour MP who had defected to the Social Democratic Party ; Wellbeloved then referred to it in a Parliamentary Question to Margaret Thatcher on 3 December. Labour Party leader Michael Foot responded to Wellbeloved by denouncing Tatchell's article and declared "the individual concerned
1715-532: The ramifications would have been unbelievable. Thousands of lives would have been lost and, at the time, I thanked God for the atom bomb. Mellish died at a care home in Sompting , West Sussex, on 9 May 1998, at the age of 85. At the time of his death, he had cancer and Parkinson's disease . Mellish married Anne Warner in 1938. They had five sons. The tallest building in Milton Keynes , Mellish Court,
1764-768: The thirteenth of fourteen children. Eight of his siblings died from illnesses in childhood. His father, a docker, had taken part in the dockers' strikes of 1899 and 1912. After he left school he worked for the Transport and General Workers' Union and when the Second World War started in 1939 he was called up and ended the war as a major in the Royal Engineers fighting the Japanese in South-East Asia. When Sir Ben Smith resigned from Parliament,
1813-403: The two, despite the fact that Militant opposed Tatchell's candidacy due to anti-gay feeling and political differences between the old left (Militant) and new left (Tatchell) of the party. As to whether Tatchell was a member of the Labour Party itself, Foot later clarified that he meant to say "endorsed candidate" instead of "endorsed member" in his response to Wellbeloved. At the next meeting of
1862-405: Was 23 years ago—I don't hold a grudge. It's time to forgive and move on", adding that Hughes should be judged on his 23-year record as an MP. Bermondsey was one of the first by-elections to be extensively polled. The polls showed, at first, that the Labour vote was substantially down on the 1979 election figures, but that none of the rival candidates were particularly close. As the campaign went on,
1911-520: Was a British politician. He was a long-serving Labour Party MP of 36 years, from 1946 to 1982. He served as the Labour Chief Whip from 1969 until 1976, but in his later years he fell out with his local Constituency Labour Party which he felt had become dominated by people on the left of the Labour Party, and he eventually left the party. He became a life peer in 1985. Mellish was born in Deptford to John Mellish and his wife Mary Elizabeth Carroll,
1960-511: Was a leading member of the left-wing faction that had taken control of the local party the previous year. He was also a contributor to London Labour Briefing , a magazine that circulated among the London left, and had written an article suggesting the use of extra-Parliamentary direct action by the Labour Party, saying: "We must look to new, more militant forms of extra-parliamentary opposition which involve mass popular participation and challenge
2009-610: Was asked whether he approved of the activity undertaken by the Liberal Gay Action Group, and replied "Nothing went on in Bermondsey that we were unhappy with". During his campaign for leadership of the Liberal Democrats in January 2006, Hughes said he "had both homosexual and heterosexual relationships in the past" and apologised for the actions of Liberals in the Bermondsey campaign, saying that while
1983 Bermondsey by-election - Misplaced Pages Continue
2058-557: Was deemed to have vacated his Commons seat after becoming Steward of the Lordship and Manor of Bromfield and Yale. The post of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham remained a nominal office of profit under the Crown, even though it had lost its original significance. It became the first office to be used for resignation when John Pitt was appointed Crown Steward on 25 January 1751. A number of other offices have also been used, but only
2107-559: Was duly selected again in January 1983. Tabloid newspapers had begun researching his background when Foot denounced him, in particular Tatchell's activities with the Gay Liberation Front in the early 1970s. Several stories were published which made it clear that he was gay . At the 1981 Greater London Council election , the Liberal Party had come second in Bermondsey . They chose their GLC candidate Simon Hughes ,
2156-484: Was in favour of Britain's entry into the Common Market but voted to oppose Edward Heath 's policy of entry in 1971, in accordance with Labour Party policy. A Wilson loyalist, Mellish apparently wept when he heard the news that Wilson had stepped down as Prime Minister in 1976. He supported Michael Foot to replace Wilson, but in vain; James Callaghan won the leadership ballot instead. Mellish (who got on well at
2205-473: Was pictured looking very effeminate, with Queen Elizabeth II . The leaflet gave Tatchell's home address and telephone number. An alternative analysis of Tatchell's eventual defeat was given by David Sutch , the Official Monster Raving Loony Party candidate, in his 1991 autobiography. When being interviewed on TV at the by-election count, Sutch related to Tatchell how horrified he was at the treatment Tatchell had received, but added that "what I did not tell him
2254-414: Was promoted as the 'Real Bermondsey' Labour candidacy by the previous MP, Bob Mellish ) was filmed touring the constituency on the back of a horse and cart, singing a song which referred to Tatchell "wearing his trousers back to front". On the last weekend of the campaign, an anonymous leaflet was sent round the constituency headed "Which Queen will you vote for?", contrasting the republican Tatchell, who
2303-548: Was rebuffed not to publicise it as no one would believe him. Mellish later joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP). In 1985 he stood down from the LDDC and accepted a life peerage on 12 July 1985 as Baron Mellish , of Bermondsey in Greater London , sitting as an independent. Mellish was a supporter of Millwall Football Club and was president of the Millwall Supporters Club. In 1995 during
2352-502: Was selected as the next prospective parliamentary candidate. He was recruited by the Conservative government to the board of the London Docklands Development Corporation ; as he did not wish to be disqualified, the post was made non-salaried until such time as Mellish chose to accept payment. This meant that Mellish had a paid job to go to as soon as he wanted. On 7 November 1981, Bermondsey Labour Party selected Peter Tatchell , its secretary, as prospective Parliamentary candidate. Tatchell
2401-430: Was that he had been so bad a candidate that he had largely brought it on himself". Sutch criticised Tatchell's preference for press conferences and press releases rather than traditional meeting-and-greeting, which was generally regarded as the best way to win hearts and minds at a by-election. In a later interview, when the subject of Bermondsey came up, Sutch said that Tatchell "seemed to think all he needed to do to become
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