2004 Leicester South by-election

2004 Leicester South by-election

15 July 2004

Leicester South parliamentary seat
Turnout41.6%
  First party Second party
 
Candidate Parmjit Singh Gill Peter Soulsby
Party Liberal Democrats Labour
Popular vote 10,274 8,620
Percentage 34.9% 29.3%
Swing 17.7% 25.2%

  Third party Fourth party
 
Candidate Chris Heaton-Harris Yvonne Ridley
Party Conservative Respect
Popular vote 5,796 3,724
Percentage 19.7% 12.7%
Swing 3.4% New party

MP before election

Jim Marshall
Labour

Subsequent MP

Parmjit Singh Gill
Liberal Democrats

A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Leicester South was held on 15 July 2004, triggered by the death of incumbent Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) Jim Marshall. It was won by Parmjit Singh Gill of the Liberal Democrats, overturning a Labour majority of 13,243 votes at the 2001 general election.

The by-election was widely considered to effectively be a referendum on the Labour government's policies—most notably its involvement in the ongoing Iraq War. It was the held on the same day as the 2004 Birmingham Hodge Hill by-election, where Labour narrowly fended off a challenge from the Liberal Democrats.