1962 Leicester North East by-election

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The 1962 Leicester North East by-election was held on 12 July 1962 when the incumbent Labour MP Sir Lynn Ungoed-Thomas was appointed a High Court Judge. It was retained by the Labour candidate, Tom Bradley.

As a consequence of the Conservatives falling into third place behind the Liberals, Harold Macmillan reshuffled his cabinet removing seven ministers, including Chancellor of the Exchequer, Selwyn Lloyd who was held responsible for the unpopularity of the pay pause policy. This mass removal of ministers, referred to as ‘the night of the long knives', smacked of desperation and caused many people to question Macmillan's political judgment. [1]

Leicester North East by-election, 1962 [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Tom Bradley 11,274 41.48 −10.43
Liberal David Bond9,32634.31New
Conservative Robin Marlar 6,57824.20−23.89
Majority1,9487.17+3.34
Turnout 27,178
Labour hold Swing +22.37

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References

  1. Anthony Seldon and Stuart Ball, Conservative Century: The Conservative Party since 1900; OUP 1994 p51
  2. "1962 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2015.