1968 Acton by-election

The 1968 Acton by-election of 28 March 1968 was held after the death of Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Bernard Floud on 10 October 1967. The seat, previously Labour, ^[1] was gained by the Conservatives in a defeat for Harold Wilson's government. It was one of the three Conservative gains from Labour on the same day, the others being at Meriden and Dudley. The by-election also marked the first electoral appearance of the National Front, who finished fourth securing 5.5% of the vote, likely drawing upon concerns regarding the recent arrival of Kenyan Asians into Britain. ^[2] A month later the British politician Enoch Powell made his Rivers of Blood speech.

Result

Acton by-election, 1968 ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Baker	12,242	48.67	+6.36
	Labour	Walter Johnson	8,522	33.88	−23.81
	Liberal	Frank Davis	2,868	11.40	New
	National Front	Andrew Fountaine	1,400	5.57	New
	Independent	Harold Fox	75	0.30	New
	Independent	William Gold	44	0.17	New
Majority			3,720	14.79	N/A
Turnout			25,151	59.7	−14.2
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+15.9

References

1. "Result at previous general election". Archived from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
2. Taylor, Stan (1982). The National Front in English Politics. London: Macmillan. p. 19.
3. "1968 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2015.