Iain Dale, the journalist, publisher and LBC phone-in host, has edited a remarkable collection of essays called British By-Elections: The 88 By-election Campaigns That Shaped Our Politics (Biteback, £30). British by-elections, he explains in his preface, “often seem to take on a far greater political significance than, in retrospect, they really have.

“At the time, they can appear to break the mould of British politics, signify the seemingly terminal decline of a particular political party or signal the end of a premiership. Some by-elections take on iconic status and are remembered several decades after they take place. Others quickly disappear into the depths of our memories, rarely to be thought about ever again.”

The collection includes essays by historians, political journalists and activists of different political hues. Contributors include Peter Kellner, Sir Vernon Bogdanor, Andrew Marr, Lord Lexden, Sir Peter Riddell, Simon Heffer, David Laws, Michael Crick, Sir John Curtice, Tim Shipman, Joe Pike and Sunder Katwala. “There’s rarely a dull by-election,” says Dale. “Whether they occur because of the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, the corruption of an MP or simply the fact that the MP has had enough, there’s always a human tale to tell.” There is also an intriguing statistics section, which includes the largest swings, the lowest winning shares of the vote, …