The Bridgwater by-election of 12 March 1970 was the first election in the United Kingdom to be held after the voting age had been reduced from 21 to 18 via the Representation of the People Act 1969. [1] The seat was held by the Conservatives on a turnout of 70.3%. [2]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Tom King | 25,687 | 55.5 | +11.1 | |
Labour | Richard Mayer | 14,772 | 31.9 | –6.2 | |
Liberal | Patrick O'Loughlin | 5,832 | 12.6 | –4.9 | |
Majority | 10,915 | 23.6 | +17.3 | ||
Turnout | 46,919 | 70.3 | –9.9 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +8.6 |
Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sides of the River Parrett; it has been a major inland port and trading centre since the industrial revolution. Most of its industrial bases still stand today. Its larger neighbour, Taunton, is linked to Bridgwater via a canal, the M5 motorway and the GWR railway line.
Ian Richard Peregrine Liddell-Grainger is a British Conservative Party politician and former property developer. He was MP for Bridgwater from 2001 until 2010, and until 2024, MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset. Through his mother, he is a great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria, third cousin of Charles III and second cousin once removed of Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.
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Frederick Walter Scott Craig was a Scottish psephologist and compiler of the standard reference books covering United Kingdom Parliamentary election results. He originally worked in public relations, compiling election results in his spare time which were published by the Scottish Unionist Party. In the late 1960s he launched his own business as a publisher of reference books, and also compiled various other statistics concerning British politics.
Bridgwater is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2024 by Ashley Fox of the Conservative Party. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
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Taunton was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and its predecessors from 1295 to 2010, taking its name from the town of Taunton in Somerset. Until 1918, it was a parliamentary borough, electing two Member of Parliaments (MPs) between 1295 and 1885 and one from 1885 to 1918; the name was then transferred to a county constituency, electing one MP.
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Events from the year 1970 in the United Kingdom.
The 1938 Bridgwater by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Bridgwater, Somerset held on 17 November 1938.
The 1969 Newcastle-under-Lyme by-election of 30 October 1969 was caused by the death of Labour MP Stephen Swingler in February of that year. It was held on the same day as four other by-elections and the seat was retained by Labour.
Sir Ashley Peter Fox is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Bridgwater since July 2024. He was previously a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South West England and Gibraltar, and was leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament from 2014 to 2019.
The 1970 United States Senate election in New York was held on November 3, 1970, to elect New York's Class I Senator in its delegation. Representative Charles Goodell had been appointed by Governor Nelson Rockefeller to serve the remainder of Robert F. Kennedy's senatorial term, following Kennedy's assassination.
The Brighton Pavilion by-election of 27 March 1969 was held after Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) William Teeling resigned from the House of Commons due to health problems. The seat was retained by the Conservatives. The successful Conservative candidate was Julian Amery, a former government minister who had lost his seat at Preston North at the last general election.
The 1969 Swindon by-election of 30 October 1969 was held after Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Francis Noel-Baker resigned from the House of Commons. The seat was won by the Conservative Party in a defeat for Harold Wilson's government.
The 1939 Holderness by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 15 February 1939 for the British House of Commons constituency of Holderness in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
The 1918 Bridgwater by-election was held on 18 June 1918. The by-election was held due to the incumbent Conservative MP, Robert Sanders, becoming Treasurer of the Household. It was retained by Sanders who was unopposed due to a War-time electoral pact.
The 1970 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 31 March with 12 MPs elected in single-seat constituencies using first-past-the-post as part of the wider general election in the United Kingdom. It was the first general election held after the Representation of the People Act 1969 which reduced the voting age from 21 to 18.