The Member of Parliament for Winchester, Mark Oaten, (Liberal Democrat) was unseated on an electoral petition on October 6, 1997. Mr Oaten had originally been declared elected with a majority of two votes after many recounts and haggling over spoilt ballots. The High Court held that the 54 votes declared void for want of the Official Mark meant the result was unsafe, and ordered a rerun.

The rerun election was held on November 20, and was a strong vindication of the original result. The Labour Party got one of their worst ever results in a parliamentary election, in part because they hardly campaigned at all and instead focused their priorities on a by-election in Beckenham held on the same day.

Both the original and rerun election involved an incidence of a candidate using an attempted confusing description, with Richard Huggett describing himself in the general election as Liberal Democrat Top Choice For Parliament (leading to Oaten, the official Lib Dem candidate, to use the ballot paperdescription Liberal Democrat Leader Paddy Ashdown) and in the by-election as a 'Literal Democrat'. The Registration of Political Parties Act 1998 put an end to this practice.

Results

The turnout was 68.7%.

General Election result, 1997