- published: 19 Feb 2016
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A by-election (occasionally also spelled "bye-election", and known in the United States and the Philippines as a special election) is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections.
Usually, a by-election occurs when the incumbent has died or resigned, but it may also occur when the incumbent becomes ineligible to continue in office, for example because of a recall, ennoblement, a sufficiently serious criminal conviction, failure to maintain a minimum attendance, bankruptcy, mental incapacity, etc. By-elections have also been called as a result of a constituency election being invalidated by voting irregularities; see Oldham East and Saddleworth election petition.
Historically, members of some parliaments were required to seek re-election upon being appointed to a ministerial post. The subsequent by-elections were termed ministerial by-elections. These by-elections were usually a formality as they were normally, but not always, uncontested by opposition parties. The requirement for Members of Parliament (MPs) to resign their seats and re-offer upon being appointed to Cabinet was done away with as an anachronism in most Westminster systems by the mid-20th century.
Monty Python (sometimes known as The Pythons) was a British surreal comedy group who created Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series. The Python phenomenon developed from the television series into something larger in scope and impact, spawning touring stage shows, films, numerous albums, several books and a stage musical as well as launching the members to individual stardom. The group's influence on comedy has been compared to The Beatles' influence on music.
The television series, broadcast by the BBC from 1969 to 1974, was conceived, written and performed by members Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. Loosely structured as a sketch show, but with an innovative stream-of-consciousness approach (aided by Gilliam's animation), it pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in style and content. A self-contained comedy team responsible for both writing and performing their work, the Pythons' creative control allowed them to experiment with form and content, discarding rules of television comedy. Their influence on British comedy has been apparent for years, while in North America it has coloured the work of cult performers from the early editions of Saturday Night Live through to more recent absurdist trends in television comedy. "Pythonesque" has entered the English lexicon as a result.