Famous By-Elections: Bobby Sands and Fermanagh & South Tyrone 1981

Possibly one of the most controversial by-elections in British political history occurred in 1981 when Bobby Sands, an imprisoned IRA terrorist, was elected to the Westminster Parliament despite being imprisoned at the time. This interview with Dr. Peter McLoughlin of Queen’s University Belfast, reader at “The Senator George J Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice”, tells the podcast all about the context in which the by-election takes place, how the election worked, as Sands was in prison at the time, and how his election was received within the UK and around the world.Sands’ election and term as an MP was short-lived. His death, whilst on hunger strike in the H-Block Maze Prison (Long Kesh Detention Centre), happened on May 5th 1981, meaning his term as MP was only 26 days.