Michael Foot talks about a young Tony Blair, with footage from the 1982 by-election in Beaconsfield.

The Beaconsfield by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 27 May 1982 for the British House of Commons constituency of Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire.

A safe Tory seat, the Labour Party selected as its candidate an unknown and untested 29-year-old barrister called Tony Blair, an aspiring politician who had been advised by Labour MP Tom Pendry to seek the party's nomination to gain political experience.

On a slightly reduced turnout, the result was a win for the Conservatives' Tim Smith, with a fractional increase in their share of the vote. Labour's vote was nearly halved from 20.2% in 1979, down to 10.4%, and Blair lost his deposit as his vote was below the 12.5% threshold. The relatively good Conservative showing was partly attributed to the surge in support for the government due to the on-going Falklands War.

It is notable for being the only election Blair lost in his political career.

*Taken from documentary, Labour's Old Romantic: A Film Portrait of Michael Foot