March 7th, 1984Plymouth Sutton by-electionAlan Clark, a Tory MP, has retired from his seat due to illness. None of the three candidates were particularly well known. The Tories stood Oliver Colville, a 25 year old from a prominent navy family. Labour stood a frequent Plymouth candidate, J.G. Priestley and for the Alliance, a 24 year old radio DJ named Brian Valentine, a member of the SDP.
The returns officer (Also the Mayor) took the platform with the three candidates lined up in a row.
"As officer of returns, I certify the resulting vote..."
Oliver Colville (Conservative) 9,628 votes
J.G. Priestley (Labour) 5,489 votes
Brian Valentine (SDP-Liberal Alliance) 12,331 votes
Valentine's win came as a bit of a surprise in London where the SDP had not been doing well since the 1983 General election. They had only held 6 seats in the election and Valentine would be the seventh. Valentine had never given serious thought to running for any sort of political office as a young man, indeed, he had always wanted to become an actor. Working as a college DJ he had been experienced to politics for the first time and decided to join the fledgeling Social Democratic Party, believing it to be a real attempt to change the British political system, which he had regarded as unfairly beholden to special interests on both sides and was losing touch with people (Though when forced to choose, he said he would trust a union member before a businessman). However, he did not seriously consider running for any sort of political office until the 1983 election. Thatcher had dominated and the SDP lost almost all of their seats and two of the infamous Gang of Four (Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers) were defeated. Roy Jenkins had a close scare in Glasgow Hillhead while his neighboring MP David Owen edged Ann Widdecombe. Charles Kennedy, a young Scotsman, the same age as Valentine had become the Baby of the House that year, making the SDP's only gain.
Indeed 1983 was a year that convinced Valentine to make a run. At first he used his job as a DJ to forward his political views and he resigned his job temporarily to run for a seat in the House, which he did not expect to win. Indeed, the by-election victory was a surprise to everyone and when he made his way to Westminster, he was greeted cheerfully by party mates as well as the allied Liberals. He was awed by being in the presence of Roy Jenkins, but did not consider himself a Jenkinsite (He had in fact voted for David Owen in the leadership election). He also was impressed with Owen, but found him to be imperious and petulant. Valentine was easy going though and willing to put up with him. He got on well with Charles Kennedy immediately given they were the same age. He also got on with the Cornish accented David Penhaligon, a witty and talented Liberal MP.
Taking special interest in election reform, Valentine dedicated his maiden speech to proportional representation.
Valentine: When we look at our present system, I look across the aisle and I see more than 200 Labour MPs. I look at our benches and I see only about 24 of us. Yet in the last election, Labour won about 8 and a half million votes while the Alliance won more than 7 and a half. Yet what makes those 8 and a half million so much more special than our 7 million voters? The proportion of votes should be fairer. We are not claiming that we deserve more seats than Labour, but we are entitled to a greater proportion of them than we have. The Alliance won 25% of the vote on election day and yet we only have 3 and a half percent of the seats in the House. I chose to highlight this issue on my maiden speech because to me, there is not a more important issue than the people of Britain. They all showed up on election day to make their voices heard and because of the system that we have, many of those voices are lost.
Hattersley: I wish to congratulate the Hon. Member from Plymouth Sutton on his maiden speech. He did make his point very eloquently, with both parties of the Alliance here in full force to support him, clearly the Hon. Member was going to give a speech worth listening to and I am grateful he gave way. Coming to the point, why does the Hon. Member seem to want to deny voters local democracy?
Valentine: This is the frequent argument of those members who refuse to acknowledge that the majority of their votes come from concentrated centers where their support is strong. This would not be such a bad thing, but the Rt. Hon. Gentleman from Birmingham Sparkbrook knows full well that unlike his political party, the Alliance vote is proportioned throughout the whole of the country.
(Interruptions from Hon. Members on the Labour benches)Mr. Speaker: Order! Order! I call the Rt. Hon. Gentleman from Henley, Mr. Michael Heseltine!
