The West Derbyshire by-election for the British House of Commons took place on 23 November 1967. It was caused by the resignation of Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Aidan Crawley to become Chairman of London Weekend Television where he remained until 1973. The seat was retained for the Conservatives by James Scott-Hopkins with a majority of 10,623 over the Liberal candidate Aza Pinney (5,696 votes). Labour's Robin Corbett came third with 5,284 and an Independent, Robert Goodall (who had contested the seat twice before in 1944 and 1945), [1] was fourth with 1,496 votes - losing his deposit.
The election was a low-key affair because there had been an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the area and restrictions had been placed on vehicle movement, with the effect of keeping the usual loud-speaker vans and cars offering lifts to the polls off the roads. [2] Also, many farmers and their families and workers were expected to stay in their farms on polling day and it was not possible for the parties to bring in much help from outside the constituency. [3] Turnout was actually 64.6% as compared to 83.4% at the previous general election (1966). [4]
The result was a blow to the Labour government with the Tories doubling the size of their majority and achieving a swing of 13% against Labour. [5] The Liberals also took heart from the result as they were able to leapfrog Labour into second place improving their share of the poll from 13.2% at the previous general election to 19.8%. Their candidate, Aza Pinney, claimed that fog on election night had prevented some of the support they were expecting to come out to vote. [6] Mr Pinney, a Dorsetshire farmer, was later selected as Liberal candidate for West Devon and was appointed organiser of the Liberals' campaign for the European referendum. [7] The main points of his campaign were industrial democracy, membership of the Common Market and reducing overseas defence costs. [8]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | James Scott-Hopkins | 16,319 | 56.7 | +7.1 | |
Liberal | Aza Pinney | 5,696 | 19.8 | +6,6 | |
Labour | Robin Corbett | 5,284 | 18.4 | -18.9 | |
Independent | Robert Goodall | 1,496 | 5.2 | New | |
Majority | 10,623 | 36.9 | +24.5 | ||
Turnout | 28,795 | 64.6 | -18.8 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +13.0 |
The 1970 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 18 June 1970. It resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, which defeated the governing Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The Liberal Party, under its new leader Jeremy Thorpe, lost half its seats. The Conservatives, including the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), secured a majority of 30 seats. This general election was the first in which people could vote from the age of 18, after passage of the Representation of the People Act the previous year, and the first UK election where party, and not just candidate names were allowed to be put on the ballots.
The 1921 Alberta general election was the fifth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on July 18, 1921, to elect members to the 5th Alberta Legislative Assembly. It was one of only five times that Alberta has changed governments.
The 2005 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 5 May 2005, to elect 646 members to the House of Commons. The Labour Party, led by Tony Blair, won its third consecutive victory, with Blair becoming the only Labour leader besides Harold Wilson to form three majority governments. However, its majority fell to 66 seats compared to the 167-seat majority it had won four years before. This was the first time the Labour Party had won a third consecutive election, and remains the party's most recent general election victory.
The 2010 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 May 2010, with 45,597,461 registered voters entitled to vote to elect members to the House of Commons. The election took place in 650 constituencies across the United Kingdom under the first-past-the-post system. The election resulted in a large swing to the Conservative Party similar to that seen in 1979; the Labour Party lost the 66-seat majority it had previously enjoyed, but no party achieved the 326 seats needed for a majority. The Conservatives, led by David Cameron, won the most votes and seats, but still fell 20 seats short. This resulted in a hung parliament where no party was able to command a majority in the House of Commons. This was only the second general election since the Second World War to return a hung parliament, the first being the February 1974 election. However, a hung parliament was anticipated this time, so politicians and voters were better prepared for the constitutional process that would follow such a result. The coalition government that was subsequently formed was the first to eventuate directly from a UK election. The hung parliament came about in spite of the Conservatives managing both a higher vote total and a higher share of the vote than the previous Labour government had done in 2005, when it secured a comfortable majority. A total of 149 sitting MPs stood down at the election, the highest since 1945, including many former New Labour Cabinet ministers such as former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, Alan Milburn, Geoff Hoon, Ruth Kelly, James Purnell and John Reid. One reason for the very high number of MPs standing down was the parliamentary expenses scandal a year earlier.
Local government elections took place in England (only) on Thursday 4 May 2006. Polling stations were open between 7:00 and 22:00.
The 1998 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 7 May 1998 to elect members of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in the West Midlands, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.
Wednesbury was a borough constituency in England's Black Country which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1868 until it was abolished for the February 1974 general election.
The 1986 Derbyshire West by-election was held on 8 May 1986 when the sitting Conservative Party Member of Parliament, Matthew Parris, took the Chiltern Hundreds and resigned, in order to become the presenter of Weekend World for ITV.
A Glasgow Hillhead by-election was held on 25 March 1982. The by-election was caused by the death of the Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Glasgow Hillhead Tam Galbraith on 2 January 1982.
The Berwick-upon-Tweed by-election, 1973 was a parliamentary by-election held on 8 November 1973 for the House of Commons constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed. It was one of four UK by-elections held on the same day.
The Chesterfield by-election, 1913 was a by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Chesterfield in Derbyshire on 20 August 1913.
Sir Courtenay Cecil Mansel, 13th Baronet was a Welsh landowner and farmer, barrister and Liberal Party politician who later joined the Conservatives.
The Berwick-upon-Tweed by-election of 31 May 1923 was a by-election to the British House of Commons which saw Mabel Philipson become the third woman to take her seat in Parliament. The election was caused when her husband, Hilton Philipson, was deprived of his seat due to corruption by his election agent. The result was formally a Conservative Party gain as husband and wife fought as members of different parties. Mrs Philipson, a former actress, performed much better at the polls than her party had expected.
Sir John Plowright Houfton was a British colliery owner and politician from Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. He sat in the House of Commons from 1922 to 1923.
The 2003 Pendle Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Pendle Borough Council in Lancashire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.
The Kensington South by-election, 1968 by-election was held in the Kensington South constituency of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom on 14 March 1968. The election was to fill a vacancy in the seat formerly held by Conservative MP William Roots, who resigned from Parliament in 1968 due to ill health.
Audrey Manuela Penelope Heather Sykes was a British Liberal Party politician who later joined the Labour Party.
The Popular Front in the United Kingdom attempted an alliance between political parties and individuals of the left and centre-left in the late 1930s to come together to challenge the appeasement policies of the National Government led by Neville Chamberlain.
The 1967 Cardiff City Council election was held on Thursday 11 May 1967 to elect councillors to Cardiff City Council in Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales. It took place on the same day as several other county borough elections in Wales and England.
The 1966 Cardiff City Council election was held on Thursday 12 May 1966 to elect councillors to Cardiff City Council in Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales. It took place on the same day as several other county borough elections in Wales and England.