The Ilford North by-election of 2 March 1978 was held after the death of Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Millie Miller on 29 October 1977. The seat was gained by the Conservatives in a defeat for James Callaghan's government.
| Ilford North, 1978 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Vivian Bendall | 22,548 | 50.31 | +9.43 | |
| Labour | Tessa Jowell | 17,051 | 38.04 | -4.44 | |
| Liberal | John Freeman | 2,248 | 5.02 | -11.62 | |
| National Front | John Hughes | 2,126 | 4.74 | N/A | |
| Conservative Independent Democrat | Thomas Iremonger | 671 | 1.50 | N/A | |
| East London People's Front | Carole Rowe | 89 | 0.20 | N/A | |
| New Britain | Alfred Burr | 48 | 0.11 | N/A | |
| Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident | Bill Boaks | 38 | 0.08 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 44,819 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | 6.9% Lab -> Con | |||
| General Election 1974, October: Ilford North | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Millie Miller | 20,621 | 42.48 | ||
| Conservative | Thomas Iremonger | 19,843 | 40.88 | ||
| Liberal | G. L. P. Wilson | 8,080 | 16.64 | ||
| Majority | 778 | 1.6 | |||
| Turnout | 74.46 | ||||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
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