It is just the sort of occasion Record Breakers host Roy Castle would have loved. The Haltemprice and Howden by-election had already made British electoral history due to the sheer number of candidates on the ballot paper. Before the poll, Brian Wheeler looked at 10 further ways in which the result could have entered the record books. How did they turn out?
It is just the sort of occasion Record Breakers host Roy Castle would have loved. The Haltemprice and Howden by-election had already made British electoral history due to the sheer number of candidates. But how many other electoral records were smashed on Thursday night?
1. TURNOUT - HOW LOW COULD IT GO?
NEW RECORD: LONGEST BALLOT PAPER
With two of the big three parties sitting the contest out, pundits believed Haltemprice and Howden could produce the lowest turnout in by-election history. Tory candidate David Davis - perhaps trying to talk expectations down - had said it could have been as low as 5%, or about 3,500 voters. The post-war record is held by Hilary Benn, who polled 19.9% in Leeds Central in 1999. Only 9% of the electorate turned out in the 1942 Poplar by-election, but that took place under wartime conditions.
Fitting the names of all 26 candidates and their parties on to the ballot paper proved a real headache for the returning officer - not to mention the voters of Haltemprice and Howden. The previous record was held by the Newbury by-election in 1993 which had 19 candidates.
Result: record intact. Turnout was an unremarkable 35%.
NEW RECORD: BIGGEST NUMBER OF INDEPENDENTS
2. MOST UNPOPULAR CANDIDATE?
Labour, the Liberal Democrats, UKIP and the BNP all gave Haltemprice and Howden a miss - but there were a record 14 independents, in addition to tiny outfits such as Church of the Militant Elvis Party and Make Politicians History.
Would anyone break the record for the smallest number of votes received in a Parliamentary election? Former Eurovision singer Ronnie Carroll was gunning for this one, we were told - but it was not as easy as it looked. He needed to poll fewer than five votes to enter the record books. Bill Boaks, a road safety campaigner and perennial by-election also ran in the 1980s, was the man to beat.
NO RECORD: TURNOUT
Result: record intact. Independents Tony Farnon and Norman Scarth came joint bottom with eight votes each.
With two of the big three parties sitting the contest out, pundits were predicting Haltemprice and Howden could produce the lowest turnout in by-election history. In the end, it was a respectable 35%, easily beating the lowest turnout in a post-war election of 19.9% in Leeds Central in 1999.
3. FASTEST COUNT?
NEW RECORD: NUMBER OF LOST DEPOSITS
No records were expected here. Polls closed at 2200 BST, with counting expected to begin 15 minutes after that. But Haltemprice and Howden is a large, mainly rural constituency and it was expected to take until 2330 to collect all of the ballot boxes from outlying areas.
Twenty three out of the 26 candidates gained less than 5% of the vote, meaning they lost their £500 deposits. This easily beats the previous record set at Newbury in 1993, when 17 out of the 19 candidates lost their deposits.
Result: record intact. The result was not declared until shortly before 0300 BST, following a delay so a recount could be held to decide who had come second and third.
NO RECORD: MOST UNPOPULAR CANDIDATE
4. MOST CANDIDATES ON A BY-ELECTION STAGE?
A closely fought category this one, with 14 candidates polling fewer than 100 votes each. Independents Tony Farnon and Norman Scarth came joint bottom with eight votes each - but they did not beat the existing record of five votes set by road safety campaigner Bill Boaks at a by-election in 1982. Former Eurovision singer Ronnie Carroll, of the Make Politicians History Party, failed spectacularly in his mission to get no votes, gaining an almost respectable 29.
Sadly health and safety chiefs ruled this one out - there were concerns that a temporary stage might collapse under the weight of 26 would-be MPs.
NO RECORD: MOST CANDIDATES ON A BY-ELECTION STAGE
Result: record intact. Candidates stood in a semi-circle on the floor of Haltemprice Leisure Centre. The returning officer had a raised platform in the middle to read out the results.
Sadly health and safety chiefs ruled this one out - there were concerns that a temporary stage might collapse under the weight of 26 would-be MPs. Candidates stood in a semi-circle on the floor of Haltemprice Leisure Centre. The returning officer had a raised platform in the middle to read out the results.
5. MOST CANDIDATES MAKING A SPEECH?
NO RECORD: MOST CANDIDATES MAKING A SPEECH
All 26 could have made a speech if they had wanted to. The returning officer was expected to have a quiet word beforehand about keeping it brief. Nevertheless, it could have been a long and entertaining night with broadcasting novices up against such professionals as ex-BBC sports presenter David Icke.
All 26 could have made a speech if they had wanted to, but in the end only a handful chose to address the nation.
Result: record intact. Only a handful of candidates chose to address the nation.
NEW (PARTY) RECORD: LOONIES LOSE THEIR DEPOSIT
6. HOW MANY WOULD LOSE THEIR £500 DEPOSIT?
Mad-Cow Girl extended the 25-year tradition of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party by failing to hold on to her £500 deposit after polling just 412 votes or 1.7%. The party's late founder Screaming Lord Sutch - who once came within 1% of retaining his deposit at a by-election - would surely have been proud.
When 19 candidates stood at Newbury in 1993 - the previous record number for a by-election - 17 of them lost their deposit. But with the vote shared out between 26 candidates in Haltemprice and Howden, there was a good chance that many of them could have polled fewer than 5% of the vote - especially if there was a very low turnout.
NEW RECORD: BEST RESULT FOR SMALLER PARTIES
Result: new record. Twenty-three surrendered their deposits.
By coming second, The Green Party achieved its best ever result in a Parliamentary election. Its candidate Shan Oakes also beat the party's previous best performance at a by-election with 1,758 votes or 7.3% of the vote. Its previous best was 6.1%. But it was also a good night for the English Democrats, who came third by the slenderest margin after a recount - their best result in a Parliamentary election. English Democrat candidate Joanne Robinson gained 1,714 votes.
7. WOULD THE LOONIES SAVE THEIR DEPOSIT?
NO RECORD: BIGGEST SHARE OF THE VOTE
Despite contesting dozens of elections over the past 25 years, the Official Monster Raving Loony Party had never gained enough votes to hold on to its deposit. Would Thursday night be any different? Would Mad-Cow Girl succeed where the party's late founder, Screaming Lord Sutch, so often failed?
David Davis missed out on this one by a whisker. He gained 72% of all ballots cast - just 3% shy of the highest share ever recorded in a British by-election, when the Labour candidate Michael Carr won in Bootle in 1990, in a contest which saw the Tory candidate James Clappison poll just 9%.
Result: record intact. Mad-Cow Girl won only 412 votes, or 1.7%.
NEW RECORD: LARGEST INCREASE IN SHARE OF THE VOTE
8. WHO WOULD COME SECOND?
David Davis increased his share of the vote by 24% - helped by the absence of a Labour or Liberal Democrat rival. The previous biggest increase came in 1951 when the Conservatives held Bristol West on an increase of 22.5%.
Assuming David Davis won, whoever came second would record their party's best ever by-election result. The Greens had the best previous by-election performance, from when they gained 6.1% of the vote at Vauxhall in 1989.
Here are the results in full:
Result: new record. The Green candidate Shan Oakes came second with 1,758, or 7.3% of the vote.
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David
Michael Davis - Conservative Party 17,113 votes
Shan
Oakes - Green Party 1,758
Joanne
Robinson - English Democrats 1,714
Tess
Culnane - National Front Britain for the British 544
Gemma
Dawn Garrett - Miss Great Britain Party 521
Jill
Saward - Independent 492
Mad
Cow-Girl - The Official Monster Raving Loony Party 412
Walter
Edward Sweeney - Independent 238
John
Nicholson - Independent 162
David
Craig - Independent 135
David
Pinder - The New Party 135
David
Icke - No party listed 110
Hamish
Howitt - Freedom 4 Choice 91
Christopher
John Talbot - Socialist Equality Party 84
Grace
Christine Astley - Independent 77
George
Hargreaves - Christian Party 76
David
Laurence Bishop - Church of the Militant Elvis Party 44
John
Randle Upex - Independent 38
Greg
Wood - Independent 32
Eamonn
Fitzpatrick - Independent 31
Ronnie
Carroll - Make Politicians History 29
Thomas
Faithful Darwood - Independent 25
Christopher
Mark Foren - Independent 23
Herbert
Winford Crossman - Independent 11
Tony
Farnon - Independent 8
Norman
Scarth - Independent 8
9. WHAT IF DAVID DAVIS DIDN'T WIN?
Turnout 23,911 (34.03%)
Unthinkable, said the pundits, but by-elections are strange things - and they didn't come any stranger than this one. If he did lose, it would have been one of the biggest upsets in political history - and his decision to quit as an MP to fight a by-election on civil liberties would have gone down as one of British politics' greatest own goals.
Result: record intact. Mr Davis stormed home with a 72% share of all ballots cast.
10. COULD DAVIS SECURE A RECORD WIN?
Could the former shadow home secretary have actually won more votes than he did in the 2005 general election? Impossible, said the experts. If he did get more than 22,792 votes, it would not only have been a massive vindication of his campaign against 42-day detention of terror suspects, it would also have confirmed him as a major player at Westminster once again and have ensured that civil liberties were a major issue at the next general election. It would also have left a few Westminster pundits with large amounts of egg on their faces - surely reason enough to tune into the election coverage, just on the off chance...
Result: record intact. On a reduced turnout, Mr Davies attracted 17,113 votes.
Oh, and for the record, here is the full list of the record breaking 26 candidates:
Grace Christine Astley - Independent
David Laurence Bishop - Church of the Militant Elvis Party
Ronnie Carroll - Make Politicians History
Mad Cow-Girl - The Official Monster Raving Loony Party
David Craig - Independent
Herbert Winford Crossman - Independent
Tess Culnane - National Front Britain for the British
Thomas Faithful Darwood - Independent
David Michael Davis - Conservative
Tony Farnon - Independent
Eamonn "Fitzy" Fitzpatrick - Independent
Christopher Mark Foren - Independent
Gemma Dawn Garrett - Miss Great Britain Party
George Hargreaves - Christian Party
Hamish Howitt - Freedom 4 Choice
David Icke - No party listed
John Nicholson - Independent
Shan Oakes - Green Party
David Pinder - The New Party
Joanne Robinson - English Democrats: Putting England First
Jill Saward - Independent
Norman Scarth - Independent
Walter Edward Sweeney - Independent
Christopher John Talbot - Socialist Equality Party
