Owen Paterson Conservative Helen Morgan Liberal Democrats A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of North Shropshire was held on 16 December 2021.
[12] An amendment to the motion was put forward by Conservative backbencher Andrea Leadsom to postpone consideration of Paterson's suspension and to set up a new committee to investigate the disciplinary process for MPs.
[21] On 4 November, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party had discussions about possibly standing aside in the by-election and backing a joint independent "anti-sleaze" candidate.
[22] This had previously happened in the seat of Tatton at the 1997 general election where independent candidate Martin Bell beat Neil Hamilton.
His links to the constituency relate to his time training at Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital near Oswestry and a period stationed at the Tern Hill barracks near Market Drayton.
[23] Former Ludlow MP Matthew Green and Shropshire County Councillor Alex Wagner were also reported as potential candidates.
[21] An editorial in The Guardian newspaper suggested that tactical voting for the Liberal Democrats be employed by the electorate to try to reduce the Conservative majority in the seat, saying "Labour voters ought to set aside their tribal loyalty and back the Lib Dem candidate".
[43] Katy Balls in The Spectator analysed the effect that the variety of problems currently facing the government, and impacting Boris Johnson's popularity (which include tax rises, English Channel migrant crossings and the controversy surrounding the resignation of Paterson, the former MP of the constituency), might have on the election result.
She said that a Lib Dem source commented that "Peppa Pig has come up more than sleaze" and that local issues such as the ambulance services, and questions over the Tory candidate being based in Birmingham were being raised by electors.
[44] The Financial Times reported that Labour strategists regarded North Shropshire as inhospitable for their party and not worth spending resources on.
One Labour strategist suggested the Liberal Democrats stood a better chance in the seat, saying: "the Lib Dems have focused on Shropshire North and they'll probably end up a good second there.
"[47] A poll of postal voters by the Liberal Democrats, reported on 2 December, put them in second place, with both the Conservative and Labour vote shares falling relative to the 2019 general election.
[50] According to local newspaper the Shropshire Star, Morgan had already apologised a few days earlier for comments from 2020 in which she "appeared to liken Channel migrants to Jews held at Auschwitz".
[54] The Shropshire Star reported on 8 December that bookmakers were divided over whether the Conservative or the Liberal Democrat candidate were the favourite to win the by-election, following partygate.
[57] On 13 December it was reported that Reform UK candidate Kirsty Walmsley had tested positive for COVID-19, and would therefore miss out on the last few days of the campaign as well as the vote count.
[58] The Liberal Democrats candidate Helen Morgan won the election with a majority of 5,925, indicating a swing of 34.2 percentage points.
[60] It was also the first time a non-Conservative won the seat since Liberal candidate Allan Heywood Bright in 1904, when the constituency was named Oswestry.