Walsall North by-election, 1976
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The Walsall North by-election on 4 November 1976 was held after the resignation of sitting Member of Parliament (MP) John Stonehouse. Elected as a Labour, Stonehouse was a member of the English National Party when he resigned, after an interlude in which he faked his own death.[1] The English National Party did not contest the by-election, the first occasion on which the incumbent's party did not do so since the Bristol South East by-election, 1963, and the last until the North Down by-election, 1995.
Amidst the confusion, the Conservative Party gained the seat in the by-election.[2]
The by-election was also noted for the performance of independent candidate Sidney Wright, the debut of the Ecology Party[3] and the split of the far right vote due to the appearance of both the National Front and their splinter group the National Party on the ballots.[4] The Liberal Party could take only fifth place, their worst ever placing in a by-election in England. The party had previously come fifth in Wales in the Merthyr Tydfil by-election, 1972, and next placed so low at the Glasgow Central by-election, 1989.
The by-election also saw a record number of candidates, beating the long-standing record of seven who contested the Stockport by-election, 1920, where two seats were available, a total first reached in a single-member by-election in the Dorset South by-election, 1962. This record was again beaten at the City of London and Westminster South by-election, 1977.
[edit] Results
| Walsall North, 1976 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Robin Hodgson | 16,212 | 43.35 | +17.2 | |
| Labour | David Winnick | 11,833 | 31.64 | -27.85 | |
| Independent | Sidney Wright | 4,374 | 11.70 | N/A | |
| National Front | Joseph Parker | 2,724 | 7.28 | N/A | |
| Liberal | Frances Oborski | 1,212 | 3.24 | -13.1 | |
| Socialist Workers | James McCallum | 574 | 1.53 | N/A | |
| National Party | Marian Powell | 258 | 0.69 | N/A | |
| Ecology | Jonathan Tyler | 181 | 0.48 | N/A | |
| Air, Road, Public Safety, White Resident | Bill Boaks | 30 | 0.08 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 37,398 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
NB: Gain from Labour as Stonehouse had been elected as such, even though he was a member of the ENP at the time of his resignation.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ 1976: Government crisis as Stonehouse quits
- ^ Full results
- ^ Green Party history, Derek Wall
- ^ M. Walker, The National Front, Glasgow: Fontana Collins, 1977
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