1991 Ribble Valley by-election

Ribble Valley in Lancashire had a Conservative majority of 19,528 when David Waddington went to the House of Lords. On March 7, 1991, the Liberal Democrat Michael Carr won it at his third attempt, with the opposition parties campaigning hard against the poll tax. The tax was abolished soon afterwards by John Major's government, which makes this a rare by-election tied closely to a policy retreat. The Conservatives took the seat back in 1992, a useful reminder that a by-election message does not always survive a general election.