2008 Henley by-election
The 2008 Henley by-election to elect a member of the British House of Commons for the constituency of Henley in Oxfordshire was held on 26 June 2008. It followed the election of Boris Johnson as Mayor of London in May 2008. In order to resign from being an MP, Johnson accepted the post of Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead on 4 June 2008. The election was won comfortably by the Conservative candidate John Howell with an increased percentage of the popular vote. The governing Labour Party's vote fell by 11% and  they finished fifth, losing their deposit. Background. Henley was considered a safe seat for the Conservative Party—having been held by the party continuously since 1910 up to this election. Johnson had gained a 12,793 majority from the Liberal Democrats at the previous election, though recent local elections have seen the Liberal Democrats' vote rise. Despite this, an easy win for the Conservative Party candidate was predicted, with the Labour Party being given little to no chance of victory. It had been expected that the by-election would be held after the parliamentary summer recess. However, following their victory in  the Crewe and Nantwich by-election, the Conservatives took the opportunity to bring the by-election forward to 26 June, in order to capitalise on their strong support. Candidates. For the 2010 general election, candidates had been chosen for the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties, but internal party rules may have required re-selection before any by-election was called. Boris Johnson's father Stanley Johnson was widely expected to seek the Conservative Party's nomination. However, John Howell, an Oxfordshire county councillor, was selected as the Conservative candidate, in preference to Ann Ducker, leader of South Oxfordshire district council , and John Cotton, a South Oxfordshire district councillor. The Liberal Democrats' candidate was Stephen Kearney, head of a development charity and previously owned and ran a small business. The Liberal Democrats had previously selected Oxfordshire councillor Susan Cooper for the general election, but under Liberal Democrat policies, such selections are not valid for by-elections. When it became apparent a by-election was to be held, a new selection process was run and she was replaced by Kearney. The Labour candidate was Richard McKenzie, who was previously a local councillor in Reading, having lost his seat in the local council  elections of May 2008. The Green Party continued with its 2005 general election candidate Mark Stevenson. The British National Party candidate, Tim Rait, previously stood for European Parliament election in 2004, for Maidenhead in the 2005 general election and the Lothians Region in the 2007 Scottish election. The United Kingdom Independence Party selected Chris Adams, Buckinghamshire County Organiser for the UKIP and also PPC for Aylesbury. He previously stood in Aylesbury at the 2005 general election. Following the candidature of the then-Miss Great Britain, Gemma Garrett, at the Crewe and Nantwich by-election in 2008, the "Beauties for Britain