UK By-Elections 1945 – 23 February 2017

Denis MacShane was born Matyjaszek and brought up in Ealing. He worked for BBC (1969 - 1977) who (racially) forced him to drop his Polish surname. After he left the BBC, he rose to be the President of the National Union of Journalists (1978-79)

By-Election due to the death of the Labour MP Jimmy Boyce (massive 17,561 Majority at the 1992 General Election), MacShane was chosen to replace him. At the time, MacShane was the Director of the European Policy Institute. He subsequently won 4 Elections (1997, 2001, 2005 and 2010) & served 18 years as a Labour MP.

He was the Minister for Europe (2002 - 2005). Ironically, he was forced to resign (05 November 2012) due to submitting false Parliamentary invoices totalling some £ 13,000 and has subsequently been charged with False Accounting (Theft Act 1968). A By-Election was subsequently held at MacShane's constituency, (Rotherham, 29 November) won by Sarah Champion, Labour.

Rosena was born in Tooting in 1977 - her Mother is Polish, who used to be a singer in the Polish Filipinki Music Group 1959-1974, based in Poland - and her Father is a Muslim from Pakistan. She attended Trinity St. Mary School, obtained a degree in Medical Biochemistry from Brunel University, folIowed by a Medical Degree from Cambridge University. She is married to a Welsh husband, they are both Muslims, and have 2 daughters who are being raised as Muslims.

Apart from being a junior doctor at St. George's Hospital in Tooting, Rosena spent many years working as a Humanitarian Doctor in Middle East, Asia, Africa and Australia. She was also a Councillor in Wandsworth Council (Bedford Ward in Balham), and served as a Deputy Leader of the Council's Labour Group.

Due to the resignation of the Tooting Labour MP, Sadiq Khan who became the Mayor of London, Rosena attended and won the By-Election, became the 100th Female Labour MP.  Following the By-Election, Rosena was appointed the Shadow Minister of Sport - in that capacity, she was the Labour party spokesperson for issues including the protection of young people from sexual exploitation in sport.

By-Election due to the resignation of the Labour MP Ian Gibson who was banned for standing as a Labour candidate for the next General Election. Christopher Ostrowski was chosen to replace him by the Labour Party (Ian Gibson won his seat with a Labour Majority of 5,461 at the previous 2005 General Election).

Unfortunately, Ostrowski came 2nd to the winner, Chloe Smith (Conservative Party) who reversed the Labour Majority into a very large Conservatory Majority of 7,348. She became the youngest Member of the House of Commons ("Baby of the House").

By-Election due to the resignation of the MP John Stonehouse (English National Party/ENP) who faked his own death (he was eventually discovered living in Australia). Though John Stonehouse's majority was a massive 15,885 at the 1974 General Election (originally as a Labour MP before John Stonehouse changed to ENP), ENP decided not to contest this By-Election so the seat reveresed back to Labour.

Frances Oborski was heavily involved in Polish Solidarity campaign (early 1980s) and is currently the Polish Honorary Consul for the West Midlands whose late husband was a local Councillor and also a member of Polskie Pokolenie Powojenne.

She is currently the longest serving member of the Wye Forest Council (30 years) having been the Chairman of numerous Committees. She was also the Mayor of Kidderminster (1984-85) and is currently a member of the Liberal Party National Executive.

Apart from the 1976 By-Election, she also stood three more times as a Liberal candidate (Staffordshire South, 1987, 2nd), (Stoke-on-Trent Central, 1997, 6th) and (Wye Forest, 2005, 4th) as well as being a candidate for the European Parliamentary Election in 1989.