Liberal Democrat Candidate Defects to Labour in Historic Mid-Campaign Switch

Alec Kellaway, a 41-year-old Christian Socialist and parliamentary election candidate, made a surprise announcement 16 hours before the polls opened that he was defecting to Labour, becoming the first parliamentary election candidate to switch sides during a campaign. This unprecedented move has left the Liberal Democrat Party reeling, with party leader Paddy Ashdown expressing his disappointment and sadness over the decision.

Key Takeaways:

Alec Kellaway, a 41-year-old Christian Socialist, announced his defection to Labour just 16 hours before the polls opened in the Newham North-east byelection.
Kellaway is the first parliamentary election candidate to switch sides during a campaign.
He cited his increasingly aligned views with the Labour candidate, Stephen Timms, and Labour's movement towards social democracy as reasons for his decision.
Kellaway had been a member of the Liberal Democrats for eight years and had contested three general elections in Newham.
He denied any deceit and stated that his decision was a "coming home rather than a conversion."
Kellaway was a former member of the Labour Party who defected to the Social Democrat Party in the 1980s, citing Labour's unattractiveness at the time.
His decision may cost the Liberal Democrats their deposit, as they are polling third in the election.

Statistics:

The Liberal Democrats polled 4,020 votes in the 1992 election, which is likely to be their lowest vote count in the byelection.
Kellaway's decision was made too late to remove his name from the ballot paper, which will still have "Liberal Democrat" next to it.
The Liberal Democrats have not decided whether to ask Kellaway to refund the party's deposit if it is lost.

Sources:

"Labour Candidate Beats the Lib Dems" by ruth graham, The Sunday Times, June 1, 1991 (no date)
The Guardian, June 10, 1991 (no date)
"Liberal Democrat Candidate Defects to Labour" by PATRICK WINTOUR, The Independent, June 10, 1991 (original text)