"Dick Taverne's brief moment of political fame or notoriety came in 1973 when he beat Labour, the party for which he had been an MP, in a byelection in his own Lincoln constituency. It served as a precursor of the Labour party's internecine 1980s strife and an early indication of the divisions that Europe has continued to cause in British political life."
"over his support for Britain's entry into the Common Market. He was deselected, but instead of quietly serving out his term he resigned, stood as a Democratic Labour candidate and won a spectacular byelection victory despite a heavyweight campaign by the national leadership to defeat him. The day after his victory, the Guardian wrote hyperbolically: Nothing quite like it has been seen this century in British elections."
"He told the electorate that they had made history: You, the people of Lincoln, have shown that what matters in politics is more than playing it the way the parties tell you. Taverne held on to the seat at the first of the following year's general elections but lost it in the second, never again to serve as an MP, though he stood twice more unsuccessfully for the Social Democratic party in London, before being created a Liberal Democrat peer in 1996."
Dick Taverne beat Labour in a 1973 by-election in Lincoln after being deselected by a left-wing local party for supporting Britain's entry into the Common Market. He resigned, stood as a Democratic Labour candidate and won despite a heavyweight national Labour campaign. He held the seat at the next general election but lost at the following one and never returned as an MP, later standing unsuccessfully twice for the Social Democratic Party in London before becoming a Liberal Democrat peer in 1996. He was born in Sumatra to a Dutch geologist father and Anglo-Dutch mother, naturalised British at 21, and moved to London in August 1939.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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