1971 Southampton Itchen by-election

The Southampton Itchen by-election of 27 May 1971 was held after the Speaker of the House of Commons and Member of Parliament (MP) Horace King retired. The seat was gained by the Labour Party (although King had initially sat as a Labour MP). The by-election was noted for the strong performance of the far right National Democratic Party, who had developed a following in the constituency. ^[1]

Results

Southampton Itchen by-election, 1971 ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bob Mitchell	22,575	55.36	N/A
	Conservative	James Spicer	12,900	31.63	New
	National Democratic	Edwin Bray	3,090	7.58	−14.32
	Liberal	Joseph Cherryson	2,214	5.43	New
Majority			9,675	23.73
Turnout			40,779
	Labour gain from Speaker		Swing

General election 1970: Southampton Itchen

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Speaker	Horace King	29,417	67.2
	National Democratic	Edwin Bray	9,581	21.9
	Independent	B. H. Phillips	4,794	11.0
Majority			19,836	45.3
Turnout			43,792	54.1
	Speaker hold		Swing

References

1. Martin Walker, The National Front, Glasgow: Fontana Collins, 1977, p. 100
2. "1970 -71 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2015.