2014 Clacton by-election

The Clacton by-election, 2014 for the Westminster constituency of Clacton in Essex is to be held on 9 October 2014.

On 28 August 2014 the Conservative MP for Clacton, Douglas Carswell, announced that he was defecting to the UK Independence Party, was resigning from Parliament and that he would stand for the seat as the UKIP candidate in a by-election.

On 4 September 2014, the Conservative Party announced that an open primary is to be held in Clacton on Thursday 11 September 2014, when a Tory candidate to take on UKIP defector Douglas Carswell will be selected.

Explanation

Douglas Carswell, a Eurosceptic backbencher, said he did not think Prime Minister David Cameron was "serious about the change we need", adding that "many of those at the top of the Conservative Party are simply not on our side":

"Of course they talk the talk before elections. They say what they feel they must say to get our support when they want our support, but on so many issues – on modernising our politics, on the recall of MPs, on controlling our borders on less government, on bank reform, on cutting public debt, on an EU referendum – they never actually make it happen."

Carswell also stated that local issues regarding planning and overcrowding of GP surgeries were a factor in his decision to resign.

Responding to the news that Carswell had defected and would trigger a by-election, David Cameron said the contest will be held "as soon as possible". He also confirmed that the Conservatives would contest the by-election. It was later announced that the by-election would be held on 9 October, which is Mr Cameron's 48th birthday.

Media reaction

On 29 August 2014, The Daily Telegraph's Peter Oborne wrote that "David Cameron should go down on his knees and beg Mayor of London Boris Johnson to stand as the Conservative Party's candidate for Clacton in the coming by-election." The bookmaker Ladbrokes offered odds of 33/1 that Johnson would stand in Clacton. Johnson had previously indicated that he would apply to stand in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency at the general election. Conservative backbencher Nigel Evans suggested that possibly the Conservatives should not stand in Clacton. Zac Goldsmith MP described Douglas Carswell as a "model parliamentarian" and remarked that "I hope he is an MP after 2015". Lord Tebbit said he would refuse to campaign against Carswell, claiming that the "House of Commons needs men like Douglas Carswell".

£100,000 by-election

Here is how the East Anglian Daily Times broke the news on 2 September 2014:

Mr Carswell, who took his party by surprise last week, announcing he was forcing a by-election after joining the UK Independence Party, has been out on the campaign trail since Friday.

His new leader Nigel Farage said:

"On 9th October UKIP, Douglas and I hope to give David Cameron the one birthday present he doesn’t want, a UKIP MP elected to Westminster. Between now and then UKIP will be working hard every day to ensure Douglas is elected."

Labour also claimed it was 'off to a flying start', after revealing its candidate Tim Young on Monday:

"We are ready. Our office is up and running, we have started door-knocking, and we were probably more prepared because we had a candidate in place unlike some of the other parties," Tim Young said.

The Conservatives are yet to announce who they will choose to fight the seat, but it emerged last night that the selection process could be an open primary. In what will be seen as a deliberate attempt to highlight the fact that Mr Carswell was parachuted in ahead of existing candidate Roger Lord, the Tories look poised to use what is seen as a more democratic method of selecting the party member who will fight for the seat.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson yesterday dismissed speculation that he would fight Mr Carswell in Essex, and asked by the BBC yesterday whether Mr Cameron had asked him to stand in Clacton, Mr Johnson said there had been 'no serious approach', adding:

"I don’t think people think it would be the right thing for me to do, given that I’ve gone in for Uxbridge."

Simon Martin-Redman, chairman of the Clacton Conservative Association, who has been tipped as the Tories' potential candidate, would not confirm or deny reports that he would fight the seat, claiming the selection had not been made, and it was not his decision. Mr Martin-Redman said:

"I think it is important we have local knowledge, someone who understands the disparity within the constituency and understands the needs of the people apart from Frinton and Walton. If you were coming in from outside, unless you knew, it would be difficult to pick up very quickly." Admitting the party had been 'caught out' last Thursday, when Mr Carswell made the shock announcement, Mr Martin-Redman said that the party would to things 'properly':

"I would rather we did that and took an extra day or two so that the local electorate will have a choice. The date has been set and it is all hands to the pump and get on with it. Just because we have not had a candidate announced does not mean we have not started to fight this election," he added.

Dismissing polls, which have put the Mr Carswell and UKIP on course for a victory, Mr Martin-Redman said:

"The poll at the weekend is ludicrous – from what we are getting on the streets it is neck and neck."

The Liberal Democrats are yet to choose their candidate, while Terry Allen, who stood for Tendring First in Clacton in the 2005 General Election, confirmed no-one from the party would be fighting the by-election in 37 days time. Frinton town councillor Terry Allen said:

"We are objecting to it anyway because it will cost £100,000 and in eight months’ time it has all got to be done again. This is a fight between Mr Carswell and the Conservatives, so let the national parties fight it out, we won’t be. If the circumstances were different we may consider it, but we don’t want to get involved in this."

Voters hostile

In letters published on 4 September 2014 in the Clacton, Frinton & Walton Gazette voters were mostly hostile:

Clever publicity stunt

I must admit that even though I cannot stand the man and what he stands for, the leader of UKIP has once again pulled off a clever publicity stunt. If Douglas Carswell wants to leave the Tory Party, that is his prerogative, but he should have changed parties at the next General Election, not now just to give Mr Farage his best chance of a UKIP MP and the maximum publicity that would go with it.

I did not vote for Mr Carswell in the last election. In fact, I have never voted Tory, but I will in this by-election and I would encourage all non-Tory voters to do the same to stop UKIP winning our seat.

It is said in 1914 we sleepwalked into the First World War. Let's not make the same mistake in 2014 by walking away from Europe. We should ask ourselves what, if Mr Farage and all the Eurosceptics are wrong, that will mean for the futures of all our children and grandchildren.

A J Strickland, Bushell Way, Frinton

Clacton will vote Labour

Douglas Carswell's attempt to secure another term in office as Clacton's MP by defecting to UKIP will be seen by many as an opportunistic move because he sees his seat slipping away from him. For a man who claims to be against the "top down" approach of the political elite in Westminster and to fight for local democracy, his actions do not seem to match his words. We need no lectures about transparency from someone who, in conjuction with Nigel Farage, selects himself as the UKIP candidate.

Roger Lord, until now the UKIP candidate selected by local UKIP members, is reported as stating:

"It is pretty arrogant of Douglas Carswell to think that the voters and the electorate are like sheep and will go along with this."

If Mr Carswell does believe in democracy, then why doesn't he take part in a selection process and let the members of the party he is now representing decide who their candidate is? It is very clear that Mr Carswell thinks the people of Clacton have no principles and will just vote for him, regardless what party he represents. Mr Carswell is no different from the political elite he criticises.

When the people of Clacton find out what UKIP's policies are in relation to privatising the NHS and tax breaks for the well-off, I believe the people of Clacton will vote for Labour candidate Tim Young.

Keith Henderson, Kirby Cross

Ego and opportunism

As a former resident of Clacton (not a Tory or UKIP supporter), I am surprised at how gullible people are in accepting Douglas Carswell's pious statements about his reasons for converting to UKIP. This isn't altruism. It's opportunism as plain as the nose on my face. If his motives are honourable, why didn't he even tell his party leader what he intended to do or the already selected local candidate?

And where are UKIP's much vaunted democratic principles when they ride roughshod over their already chosen candidate, Roger Lord. Opportunism again! Mr Carswell makes much of the fact that he is seeking a mandate rather than just switching sides in the House, but the General Election is only six months away and no special event or reason has triggered his decision to switch horses which would not have waited until then then.

Mr Carswell doesn't mind wasting £150,000 of taxpayers' money in this late by-election because he knows he stands far more chance of winning than in a General Election, thus acquiring foor himself the kudos of being "UKIP's first MP". This move is about two things: ego and opportunism. Anyone who can't see that really should have gone to Specsavers.

Richard Barnes (Address supplied)

By-election candidates

Douglas Carswell announced that he would stand again for the seat as UKIP's candidate. However, UKIP's recently selected General Election candidate for Clacton, Roger Lord, has said he will not stand down in favour of Carswell and local activists have said that the local party may not be willing to adopt Carswell as the candidate. In addition, Lord hinted to Sky News that he was willing to defect to the Conservatives having described Carswell as 'stupid' and 'gutless'. Anne Poonian, the secretary of the Clacton UKIP association, was quoted as saying:

Carswell's taking a very big risk for getting in for a little party. We may not adopt him as our candidate, who knows? He has to be adopted by us, the local association. At the moment he’s just an unemployed MP. Who knows whether he’ll be adopted? However, UKIP have said that different rules apply to the selection of a candidate at a by-election and that Carswell has been formally and correctly chosen as the candidate.

Colchester Borough Councillor Tim Young had been announced prior to Carswell's resignation as the Labour Party candidate and was later confirmed as their by-election candidate.