Newham South by-election, 1974

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The Newham South by-election was held on 23 May 1974, following the appointment of Labour Party Member of Parliament for Newham South Elwyn Jones as Lord Chancellor, and his subsequent life peerage.

The by-election occurred soon after the February 1974 UK general election, and indeed proved to be the only by-election of the Parliament, the next general election being held in October. Given that there was a hung parliament, and at the time of the by-election a general election was thought likely, any changes in the share of the vote between the main parties could have given a guide as to the likely future government.

Created for the February general election, the constituency was regarded as a safe Labour seat. Jones had won a majority of more than 50%, and had held the predecessor seat of West Ham South since its creation at the 1950 UK general election. In February, the Liberal Party and Conservative Party had each shared around one eighth of the vote, while the far right National Front had achieved one of their best results in the country, taking 6.9%.

Labour chose Nigel Spearing as its candidate; previously the MP for Acton, he had lost his seat at the February election. The Liberals, Conservatives and National Front all fielded the same candidates who had stood in February, hoping to build on their performance. An "independent Labour" candidate also stood.

The election campaign was dominated by the impending election, and by the threat posed by the National Front.

[edit] Results

Spearing achieved an easy victory, although his vote dropped slightly from the February election. The Liberal and Conservative votes both dropped slightly, while despite a strong anti-fascist campaign, the National Front picked up votes to finish third, ahead of the Tories. The Conservatives had not finished fourth in an English by-election since World War II and did not do so again until Bermondsey in 1983.

At the October general election, Spearing held the seat with an increased majority. The Tories and Liberals failed to gain ground, while the National Front began to fall back. Spearing held the seat until it was abolished in 1997.

Newham South by-election 1974
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Nigel Spearing	9,321	62.6	- 5.7
	Liberal	Ivor Shipley	1,862	12.5	- 2.3
	National Front	Michael Lobb	1,713	11.5	+ 3.6
	Conservative	Frank Fox	1,651	11.1	- 1.2
	Independent Labour	Sydney South	332	2.2	N/A
Majority			7,459	50.1	- 7.4
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: Newham South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Elwyn Jones	23,952	66.1
	Liberal	Ivor Shipley	5,369	14.8
	Conservative	Frank Fox	4,422	12.2
	National Front	Michael Lobb	2,511	6.9
Majority			18,583	51.3
Turnout				63.2
	Labour hold		Swing