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Post by greenhert on Dec 30, 2016 0:15:47 GMT
It fascinates me how many times someone can get selected by a major UK party and never actually become an MP (and in some cases have no real prospect of becoming one).
There used to be a website called ElectionWeb which used to have this data, but it has gone offline with no sign of returning.
For the purposes of this leaderboard, major British parties include: Conservative, Green, Labour, Liberal Democrats, UKIP, SNP, and Plaid Cymru (since they all have at least one MP and one MEP apiece and each has a good chance of increasing their current parliamentary representation in the near future somewhere; they also all have local support bases in at least several areas of the country). Runs for Liberal/SDP are counted as LD, runs for AFL are counted as UKIP, and runs for PEOPLE/Ecology are counted as Green. People who have been successfully elected as an MP, even once, are not eligible for inclusion on this leaderboard.
The current frequent parliamentary candidates leaderboard for major parties looks like this (NB: only contests since 1950 are counted):
| Party | Name of candidate | Number of unsuccessful parliamentary attempts | Years in which attempts were carried out | | Conservative | Brian Keefe | 7 | 1964, 1964 (by), 1966, 1970, 1974 (Oct), 1979, 1983 | | Labour | Nigel Knowles | 9 | 1979,1983,1987,1992,1997,2001,2005,2010,2015 | | Lib Dem | Simon Knott | 9* | 1959,1964,1966,1970,1974(both),1979,1983,1987 | | UKIP | Nigel Farage | 7 | 1994(by),1997,2001,2005,2006(by),2010,2015 | | Green | Alan Francis | 10 | 1983,1987,1992,1997,2001,2005,2010,2015, 2017, 2019 | | SNP | William Wolfe | 8 | 1962(by),1964,1966,1970,1973(by),1974(both),1979 | | Plaid Cymru | Lindsay Whittle | 9** | 1983,1987,1992,1997,2001,2005,2010, 2017, 2019 |
*Simon Knott's run as an Independent Liberal in Barons Court in 1959, and as a local Liberal in 1983 in Hammersmith (Hammersmith Liberal Association backed him, but the national parties of both the SDP and Liberal Parties at the time backed Michael Starks instead) are counted here. **All in the same constituency-Caerphilly.
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mondialito
Labour
Everything is horribly, brutally possible.
Posts: 4,924 
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Post by mondialito on Dec 30, 2016 2:25:21 GMT
I am intrigued by Nigel Knowles, he has often run in constituencies where Labour weren't competitive. Does he just like standing in elections?
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maxque
Non-Aligned
Posts: 8,975
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Post by maxque on Dec 30, 2016 5:45:49 GMT
Trying to track back their constituencies and I can't find where Brian Keefe stood in Feb 1974.
For Farage, you missed the Bromley & Chislehurst by-election in 2006.
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Post by finsobruce on Dec 30, 2016 11:42:30 GMT
I am intrigued by Nigel Knowles, he has often run in constituencies where Labour weren't competitive. Does he just like standing in elections? We've talked about Nigel on this forum before I think. I have some slight knowledge of him as he was a councillor here in Wood Green in the era just before me (he stood down in 1990). He was originally from Kidderminster I think and then when he left London moved back in that direction and has been picking up candidacies ever since. |
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Post by greenhert on Dec 30, 2016 14:34:33 GMT
Trying to track back their constituencies and I can't find where Brian Keefe stood in Feb 1974. For Farage, you missed the Bromley & Chislehurst by-election in 2006. I have fixed that for you.
Brian Keefe's run of unsuccessful candidacies for the Conservative Party (a run unlikely to be beaten in my honest opinion, given how tight selection contests are nowadays) is as follows: Liverpool Scotland (1964 by-election and 1964 general election), Liverpool Toxteth (1966 and 1970), Ormskirk (October 1974 and 1979), and Liverpool Mossley Hill (1983). He did not stand anywhere in February 1974 for some reason...
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Post by finsobruce on Dec 30, 2016 15:27:16 GMT
Trying to track back their constituencies and I can't find where Brian Keefe stood in Feb 1974. For Farage, you missed the Bromley & Chislehurst by-election in 2006. I have fixed that for you.
Brian Keefe's run of unsuccessful candidacies for the Conservative Party (a run unlikely to be beaten in my honest opinion, given how tight selection contests are nowadays) is as follows: Liverpool Scotland (1964 by-election and 1964 general election), Liverpool Toxteth (1966 and 1970), Ormskirk (October 1974 and 1979), and Liverpool Mossley Hill (1983). He did not stand anywhere in February 1974 for some reason...
probably he needed a lie down. The Revd Roger Roberts stood many times for the Liberals in Conway/Conwy IIRC as did Alan Butt Philip in Wells (five each). |
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Post by finsobruce on Dec 30, 2016 18:11:27 GMT
Labour had several people who stood multiple times before the Second World War. Geoffrey Garratt stood five times: Three in Cambridgeshire (1924,1929,1931) and once each in The Wrekin (1935) and Plymouth Sutton (1937 by election).
Cambridgeshire had only three Labour candidates in all the elections between 1918 and 1950 as Albert Stubbs (whose great grandson just won the Witney by-election for the Tories) stood in 1918,1922, 1923, 1945 (when he won by 44 votes) and 1950. The only election in this period not to have been contested by either Stubbs or Garratt was 1935 when John Bellerby stood.
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Post by finsobruce on Dec 30, 2016 18:19:49 GMT
Someone else worthy of comment is the Liberal Ramsay Muir who stood eight times, but "spoilt" his record by actually managing to get elected as the MP for Rochdale for a year (1923-4).
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Post by greenhert on Dec 30, 2016 19:47:20 GMT
And also Gwynfor Evans of Plaid Cymru, who only won two parliamentary elections (Carmarthen by-election, 1966, and Carmarthen again in the October 1974 general election) of the 13 he contested during his lifetime.
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Post by Pete Whitehead on Dec 31, 2016 11:32:54 GMT
Someone else worthy of comment is the Liberal Ramsay Muir who stood eight times, but "spoilt" his record by actually managing to get elected as the MP for Rochdale for a year (1923-4). Nancy Seear stood seven times without being elected (including once in Rochdale and twice in Truro) |
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The Bishop
Labour
Down With Factionalism!
Posts: 36,474
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Post by The Bishop on Dec 31, 2016 11:36:47 GMT
I have fixed that for you.
Brian Keefe's run of unsuccessful candidacies for the Conservative Party (a run unlikely to be beaten in my honest opinion, given how tight selection contests are nowadays) is as follows: Liverpool Scotland (1964 by-election and 1964 general election), Liverpool Toxteth (1966 and 1970), Ormskirk (October 1974 and 1979), and Liverpool Mossley Hill (1983). He did not stand anywhere in February 1974 for some reason...
probably he needed a lie down. The Revd Roger Roberts stood many times for the Liberals in Conway/Conwy IIRC as did Alan Butt Philip in Wells (five each). Lets not forget Chris Foote Wood (older brother of the late lamented Victoria) who has stood eight times as a Liberal/LibDem - and was going to make it nine last year, but withdrew very late on. Given that two of Knott's candidacies were "unofficial", he could be argued to be their record holder. |
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Post by finsobruce on Dec 31, 2016 12:29:37 GMT
probably he needed a lie down. The Revd Roger Roberts stood many times for the Liberals in Conway/Conwy IIRC as did Alan Butt Philip in Wells (five each). Lets not forget Chris Foote Wood (older brother of the late lamented Victoria) who has stood eight times as a Liberal/LibDem - and was going to make it nine last year, but withdrew very late on. Given that two of Knott's candidacies were "unofficial", he could be argued to be their record holder. Top fact bish - I hadn't realised they were related. Having googled him I see he got himself into hot water with his recent unofficial biography of her. |
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Post by Lord Twaddleford on Dec 31, 2016 14:04:13 GMT
The Revd Roger Roberts stood many times for the Liberals in Conway/Conwy IIRC as did Alan Butt Philip in Wells (five each). With the exception of his first run in 1979, he consistently came in 2nd in all of his attempts, getting to within striking distance in 1992, only to get leapfrogged by Labour in 1997...  |
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Post by warofdreams on Jan 4, 2017 0:02:04 GMT
For the SNP, I'll raise you William Wolfe, who managed seven runs in West Lothian (62by, 64, 66, 70, Feb 74, Oct 74, 79), coming second each time, plus the 1973 by-election in Edinburgh North.
Also worth mentioning Robert McIntyre, who won the Motherwell by-election in 1945, but lost it at the general election a few months later, then had a further ten unsuccessful runs (Motherwell 50, Perth & E Perthshire 51, 55, 59, 64, W Stirlingshire 66, 70, Stirling & Falkirk by 71, Feb 74, Oct 74).
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Post by warofdreams on Jan 4, 2017 0:05:54 GMT
| Plaid Cymru | Lindsay Whittle | 7** | 1983,1987,1992,1997,2001,2005,2010 |
**All in the same constituency-Caerphilly.
Phil Williams stood unsuccessfully for Plaid in Caerphilly on six occasions - since they first stood, in 1959, they've only had four different candidates in the seat. |
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Post by greenhert on Jan 4, 2017 9:56:22 GMT
For the SNP, I'll raise you William Wolfe, who managed seven runs in West Lothian (62by, 64, 66, 70, Feb 74, Oct 74, 79), coming second each time, plus the 1973 by-election in Edinburgh North. Also worth mentioning Robert McIntyre, who won the Motherwell by-election in 1945, but lost it at the general election a few months later, then had a further ten unsuccessful runs (Motherwell 50, Perth & E Perthshire 51, 55, 59, 64, W Stirlingshire 66, 70, Stirling & Falkirk by 71, Feb 74, Oct 74). Thank you for that-I have corrected my leaderboard accordingly. Ironically, despite leading the SNP for 10 years and helping it secure a permanent place in the House of Commons during this time, he never won a seat himself, probably because in West Lothian he was always up against none other than Tam Dalyell. |
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Post by timrollpickering on Jan 4, 2017 13:06:16 GMT
I suspect some of the Northern Ireland Assembly members have clocked up a lot of "unsucessful" Westminster candidacies (although for a party that's never going to contend in that seat, boosting your profile to win in the Assembly is often the successful goal).
Sean Farren stood for the SDLP in North Antrim 7 times - 1979, 1983, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2001 & 2005 and was elected to the Assemblies/Forum each time during that period. (He missed the 1986 by-election because the SDLP declined to stand in Unionist majority seats.)
Does the Guardian (I think) still have the database that allows anyone to look up a candidate's full electoral history?
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The Bishop
Labour
Down With Factionalism!
Posts: 36,474
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Post by The Bishop on Jan 4, 2017 13:11:37 GMT
But I think that only went back to 1992?
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Post by LDCaerdydd on Jan 4, 2017 13:36:57 GMT
| Plaid Cymru | Lindsay Whittle | 7** | 1983,1987,1992,1997,2001,2005,2010 |
**All in the same constituency-Caerphilly. Lindsay Whittle also stood in the same Caerphilly seat, in the Assembly elections of 2003, 2007 and 2016. (And was elected to South East Wales in 2011) |
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Foggy
Non-Aligned
Long may it rain
Posts: 5,506
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Post by Foggy on Jan 5, 2017 23:38:36 GMT
The Revd Roger Roberts stood many times for the Liberals in Conway/Conwy IIRC as did Alan Butt Philip in Wells (five each). Confusingly, the latter also appears to have been top of the Lib Dem list for Wales at the 2009 Euro elections. The following year a Theo Butt Philip was the LD candidate in Bridgwater at the general election. |
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