On Fri, 30 May 2008 at 10:16:00, Colin Rosenstiel  
wrote in uk.politics.electoral :
>>
>> But why, if Mellish was already the MP, would they want to replace
>> him with someone else?
>
>He had been appointed as Deputy Chairman of the London Docklands
>Development Corporation which meant he couldn't continue as an MP. The
>byelection had been in the air since 1981.
>
Fair enough - but who appointed him to that post, someone who wanted him 
out so Tatchell could fight the by-election?
-- 
Paul Hyett, Cheltenham