More by-elections expected in early 2011
By politics.co.uk staff
Leicester South could join Barnsley Central as the next electoral test for the coalition.
Following the Oldham East and Saddleworth result, which saw Labour hold the seat with a 3,558 majority, two further by-elections are now expected to take place in the coming months.
Expenses MP Eric Illsley, who is quitting parliament after pleading guilty to defrauding the Commons’ allowances system, will trigger a by-election in the north-east.
A further vote is now possible in Leicester South, where Labour MP Sir Peter Soulsby is considering running to be Leicester’s mayor.
If he were to win Sir Peter would be expected to stand down as an MP.
Both seats are likely to be held by Labour, although Leicester South was briefly held by the Liberal Democrats in the wake of the Iraq war.
A by-election in the seat in 2004 saw Lib Dem Parmjit Singh Gill beat Sir Peter with a 1,654 majority, but the result was reversed in 2005. Sir Peter improved his majority over Mr Gill to 8,808 last May.
Illsley suffered a swing of 4.2% towards the Liberal Democrats in 2010, but his majority remained comfortable at over 11,000 votes.
