1963 Colne Valley by-election
The 1963 Colne Valley by-election was a parliamentary
Vacancy
The by-election was caused by the death of the sitting Labour MP, Glenvil Hall, on 13 October 1962. He had held the seat since a 1939 by-election.
Election history
Colne Valley had been won by Labour at every election since 1935, when they had gained the seat from the Liberals. The result at the previous general election was as follows;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Glenvil Hall | 19,284 | 44.3 | ||
Conservative | Christopher J. Barr | 13,030 | 29.9 | ||
Liberal | Richard Wainwright | 11,254 | 25.8 | New | |
Majority | 6,254 | 14.4 | |||
Turnout | 43,568 | 84.1 | |||
Labour hold | Swing |
Candidates
Labour selected 43-year-old
The Conservatives selected 28-year-old outsider, Andrew Alexander, a journalist and leader writer. Alexander was educated at Lancing College, and a former member of Dorchester Borough Council. He was a past chairman of North Kensington Young Conservatives and Dorchester Young Conservatives.[2]
The Liberals re-selected 44-year-old Leeds man Richard Wainwright. He had contested Pudsey in 1950 and 1955 and Colne Valley in 1959. Wainwright was a chartered accountant, educated at Shrewsbury School and Clare College, Cambridge. He was a Member of the Liberal Party Committee and Council, and chairman of the Liberal Party Organization Department from 1955 to 1957.[3]
An independent candidate,
174 people serving in the
Campaign
The election campaign was a long one, with polling day not taking place until five months after the death of the previous MP.
The main themes of Wainwright's Liberal campaign were State Pensions being tied to the cost of living index, creating a new Ministry of Employment, and no more nationalisation.[6]
Result
The Labour vote share held up, while the Liberals gained support at the expense of the Conservatives. Significantly, Wainwright had managed to push the Conservative candidate into third place.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Patrick Duffy
|
18,033 | 44.5 | +0.2 | |
Liberal | Richard Wainwright | 15,994 | 39.5 | +13.7 | |
Conservative | Andrew Alexander | 6,238 | 15.4 | -14.5 | |
Independent
|
Arthur Fox
|
266 | 0.6 | New | |
Majority | 2,039 | 5.0 | -9.4 | ||
Turnout | 40,531 | 78.9 | -5.2 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | -6.8 |
Aftermath
All three main party candidates did battle again at the following general election. Wainwright further closed the gap on the Labour Party. The result at the 1964 general election was;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Patrick Duffy
|
18,537 | 42.0 | -2.5 | |
Liberal | Richard Wainwright | 18,350 | 41.6 | +2.1 | |
Conservative | Andrew Alexander | 7,207 | 16.3 | +0.9 | |
Majority | 187 | 0.4 | -4.6 | ||
Turnout | 44,094 | 84.8 | +5.3 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | -2.3 |
Wainwright eventually defeated Duffy at the 1966 general election, and held the seat until his retirement in 1987. Duffy went on to become the MP for Sheffield Attercliffe, serving from 1970 to 1992.
References
- ^ The Times House of Commons 1964
- ^ The Times House of Commons 1964
- ^ The Times House of Commons 1964
- ^ Arthur Fox – Manchester’s King of Glamour
- ^ D. Leonard and R. Mortimore, Elections in Britain: A Voter's Guide, pp.85-86
- ^ Wainwright's election material
- ^ "1963 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
Bibliography
- Who's Who: www.ukwhoswho.com
- By-Elections in British Politics by Cook and Ramsden
- Wainwright's election material: https://web.archive.org/web/20120507020835/http://www.by-elections.co.uk/colne63/Liberal.html
See also
- List of United Kingdom by-elections
- United Kingdom by-election records