Richmond Park by-election, 2016

Richmond Park
by-election, 2016

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Candidate Sarah Olney Zac Goldsmith Party Liberal Democrat Independent Popular vote 20,510 18,638 Percentage 49.7% 45.2%
Location of Richmond Park within London
MP before election Zac Goldsmith Conservative Elected MP Sarah Olney Liberal Democrats

Zac Goldsmith
Conservative

Sarah Olney
Liberal Democrats

The Richmond Park by-election was a UK parliamentary by-election in the constituency of Richmond Park which was held on 1 December 2016. It was triggered by the resignation of the Conservative Member of Parliament Zac Goldsmith on 25 October 2016 over the Government's proposal for a third runway at the nearby Heathrow Airport. It was won by Sarah Olney of the Liberal Democrats, after a campaign focused on opposition to Brexit.

When first elected in the 2010 general election and on several subsequent occasions, Goldsmith had promised that he would resign if the government supported a third runway at Heathrow. Following his re-election in the 2015 general election, he stood as the Conservative candidate in the 2016 London Mayoral election, and lost to Sadiq Khan.

When the May ministry announced on 25 October 2016 that the government would support a third runway at Heathrow, Goldsmith resigned his seat.

Goldsmith stood as an independent candidate. He was described as an "Independent Conservative", although that ballot paper description has not been permitted since the Registration of Political Parties Act 1998 came into force.