Bristol South East by-election, 1963

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The Bristol South East by-election, 1963 was a by-election held on 20 August 1963 for the British House of Commons constituency of Bristol South East in the city of Bristol.

The seat had become vacant in 1961 when the constituency's Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Tony Benn had inherited from his father an hereditary peerage as Viscount Stansgate, thus making him ineligible to serve in the House of Commons. He had been elected at a by-election in 1950.

Benn stood in the 1961 by-election anyway, but due to his ineligibility, the Conservative Party candidate Malcolm St. Clair was declared the winner.

When the law was later changed to allow Benn to renounce his peerage, St Clair resigned his seat, triggering the 1963 by-election. Benn won again, with nearly 80% of the votes. The Conservatives did not not nominate an official candidate, the last by-election in Great Britain to date that there has been no Conservative candidate. An independent conservative candidate finished in second place.

[edit] Votes

Bristol South East by-election, 1963
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tony Benn	20,313	79.7	+10.2
	National Fellowship Conservative	Edward Martell	4,834	19.0
	Independent	M. P. Lloyd	287	1.1
	Independent	G. Pearl^*	44	0.2
Majority			15,479	60.7	+21.7
Turnout			25,478	42.2	−14.5
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

* Pearl withdrew on the eve of poll, to support Martell

[edit] See also

[edit] References

v • d • e « 41st Parliament « By-elections to the 42nd Parliament of the United Kingdom » 43rd Parliament »

1960	March: Brighouse and Spenborough • Harrow West • May: Edinburgh North • November: Mid Befordshire • Bolton East • Carshalton • Ludlow • Petersfield • Tiverton • Ebbw Vale • Blyth

1961	March: Cambridgeshire • Colchester • High Peak • Worcester • Birmingham Small Heath • April: Paisley • Warrington • May: Bristol South East • November: Manchester Moss Side • East Fife • Oswestry • Glasgow Bridgeton

1962	March: Lincoln • Blackpool North • Middlesbrough East • Orpington • Pontefract • April: Stockton-on-Tees • Derby North • May: Montgomeryshire • June: Middlesborough West • West Derbyshire • July: West Lothian • Leicester North East • November: Chippenham • South Dorset • Glasgow Woodside • Central Norfolk • South Northamtonshire •

1963	March: Colne Valley • Rotherham • Swansea East • June: Leeds South • July: Deptford • West Bromwich • August: Stratford • Bristol South East • Belfast South • November: Kinross and West Perthshire • Luton • December: Manchester Openshaw • St Marylebone • Sudbury and Woodbridge • Dumfriesshire • Dundee West

1964	May: Bury St Edmunds • Devizes • Faversham • Rutherglen • Winchester • June: Liverpool Scotland

Lists of UK by-elections: 1885–1900 • 1900–1918 • 1918–1931 • 1931–1950 • 1950–1979 • 1979–present

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