Best of the Spectator Coffee House Shots: why by-elections matter
Feb 23, 2026
Jon Craig, Sky News chief political correspondent known for live election-night coverage, shares his love of unpredictable by-elections. They tour landmark contests from 1938 to recent shocks. Short counts, long waits, career-making surprises and how modern politics and social media reshape scrutiny are all discussed in lively, anecdote-filled conversation.
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By-elections Are Live Unpredictable Television
- Jon Craig loves by-elections because they are live, unscripted television full of unpredictability and drama.
- He recalls Runcorn and Helsby where Sarah Pochin won by six votes, producing a 6am nail-biter and multiple recounts.
By-elections Reflect Major National Battles
- Ian Dale says historical by-elections often mirror major national arguments, like Oxford 1938 which was appeasement versus non-appeasement.
- He highlights famous contests including Kitty Atholl and Tony Benn's by-election returns as signal moments.
1980s By-elections Showed SDP Threat Then Receded
- Ian Dale traces the SDP/liberal surge in the 1980s through by-elections where they nearly broke the two-party mold, with Roy Jenkins contesting unsafe Labour seats.
- He argues the Falklands War and 1983 Thatcher landslide curtailed that threat.