2016 Sleaford and North Hykeham by-election

2016 Sleaford and North Hykeham by-election

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Sleaford and North Hykeham
Turnout	37.1%
First party Second party Third party   Candidate Caroline Johnson Victoria Ayling Ross Pepper Party Conservative UKIP Liberal Democrats Popular vote 17,570 4,426 3,606 Percentage 53.5% 13.5% 11.0% Swing 2.7% 2.2% 5.3%   Fourth party Fifth party   Candidate Jim Clarke Marianne Overton Party Labour Lincolnshire Independent Popular vote 3,363 2,892 Percentage 10.2% 8.8% Swing 7.1% 3.6%
MP before election Stephen Phillips Conservative Elected MP Caroline Johnson Conservative

A by-election for the House of Commons constituency of Sleaford and North Hykeham in Lincolnshire, England, was held on 8 December 2016. It was triggered by the resignation of the Conservative member of parliament (MP) Stephen Phillips, who left Parliament on 4 November 2016 due to policy differences with the Conservative government led by the prime minister, Theresa May, over Brexit – the British withdrawal from the European Union (EU). The Conservatives nominated Caroline Johnson, a paediatrician, to replace Phillips; she won the by-election with more than 50 per cent of the vote, a sizable majority. The Conservatives' vote share fell slightly compared to the result at the previous general election in 2015.

Phillips had won a large majority of 39 per cent in 2015, with the Labour Party candidate coming second. The constituency had been held by the Conservatives since it was first contested in the 1997 general election and was considered a safe seat for the party. Sleaford and North Hykeham was estimated to have had a vote share of more than 60 per cent in favour of leaving the EU in the 2016 EU membership referendum and Brexit was a key issue in the by-election campaign. Phillips had supported a UK withdrawal from the EU but resigned in opposition to the government's handling of the issue – he felt that Parliament was not being consulted sufficiently.

Ten candidates stood in the by-election. The anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) came second with 13 per cent of the vote, followed by the Liberal Democrats with 11 per cent of the vote and Labour on 10 per cent. The by-election result was widely seen as poor for the Labour Party, whose vote share decreased by 7 per cent.