 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Constituency of Rochdale | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnout | 69.10% ( 3.70%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 1972 Rochdale by-election, was a parliamentary by-election held on 26 October 1972 for the British House of Commons constituency of Rochdale.
The by-election took place during the 1970s Liberal revival, in one of the few Labour-held seats in which the Liberal Party was in second place. This was the first Liberal gain during the 1970–1974 Parliament.
The seat had become vacant when the constituency's Labour Member of Parliament (MP), John "Jack" McCann (4 December 1910 – 16 July 1972), died.
McCann first contested the Rochdale seat for Parliament in 1955 without success. He was first elected in a 1958 by-election following the death of the sitting Conservative MP Wentworth Schofield. In that by-election the Liberal candidate had finished second, during the late 1950s Liberal revival that culminated in the victory at the 1958 Torrington by-election, the next month. The Liberals had finished second to McCann in three out of the four subsequent general elections, including that of 1970.
Four candidates were nominated. The list below is set out in descending order of the number of votes received at the by-election.
The Liberal Party candidate was Cyril Smith (28 June 1928 – 3 September 2010). He was a prominent local politician, who had been a Labour Mayor of the town in 1966–67. Smith joined the Liberal Party in 1967. He had finished second in the seat at the 1970 United Kingdom general election. Smith won the by-election and retained the constituency until he retired from Parliament in 1992. He was the Liberal Chief Whip 1975–76.
Representing the Labour Party was Lawrence Cunliffe (born 25 March 1929). He again contested Rochdale in the February 1974 general election. Cunliffe was elected MP for Leigh in 1979 and sat for the seat until he retired in 2001.
The Conservative candidate was David Trippier, born in 1946. He was a stockbroker and Rochdale councillor. He contested Oldham West in both 1974 general elections. Trippier became the Member of Parliament for Rossendale from 1979 to 1983, and for Rossendale and Darwen from 1983 until he lost his seat in 1992.
Jim Merrick, the chairman of the British Campaign to Stop Immigration, was from Bradford and issued leaflets headed "Enoch is right".
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Cyril Smith | 19,296 | 42.29 | +11.89 | |
| Labour | Lawrence Cunliffe | 14,203 | 31.12 | -10.45 | |
| Conservative | David Trippier | 8,060 | 17.66 | -10.37 | |
| Independent | Jim Merrick | 4,074 | 8.93 | New | |
| Majority | 5,093 | 11.17 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 45,633 | 69.10 | -3.70 | ||
| Registered electors | 66,081 | ||||
| Liberal gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
Lawrence Cunliffe is a retired British Labour Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leigh from 1979 to 2001.
The City of Chester is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2 December 2022 by Samantha Dixon of the Labour Party. She was elected in the by-election held following the resignation of Chris Matheson MP on 21 October 2022.
Rochdale is a seat represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It has elected one Member of Parliament (MP) since its 1832 creation.
Accrington was a parliamentary constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election.
Isle of Ely was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, centred on the Isle of Ely in Cambridgeshire. Until its abolition in 1983, it elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Sir David Austin Trippier, RD, DL is a British Conservative Party politician and author.
Oldham was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Oldham, England. It returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency was created by the Great Reform Act of 1832 and was abolished for the 1950 general election when it was split into the Oldham East and Oldham West constituencies.
Sir Wilfrid Hart Sugden was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. A Member of Parliament (MP) for fourteen years, he represented three different constituencies, losing his seat twice and losing in three other elections which he contested.
Heywood was a county constituency in the county of Lancashire of the House of Commons for the Parliament of the United Kingdom which existed between 1885 and 1918. Created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, it was represented by one Member of Parliament. The constituency was abolished in 1918.
The 1962 Montgomeryshire by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 15 May 1962 for the British House of Commons constituency of Montgomeryshire.
The 1973 Ripon by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 26 July 1973 for the British House of Commons constituency of Ripon.
The 1937 Holland with Boston by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 24 June 1937 for the British House of Commons constituency of Holland with Boston.
The 1973 Berwick-upon-Tweed by-election 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 1945 Caernarvon Boroughs by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 26 April 1945 for the British House of Commons constituency of Caernarvon Boroughs.
The 1939 Westminster Abbey by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 17 May 1939 for the British House of Commons constituency of Westminster Abbey in London.
The 1943 University of Wales by-election was a parliamentary by-election held in the United Kingdom between 25 and 29 January 1943 for the House of Commons constituency of University of Wales.
The 1939 North Cornwall by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 13 July 1939 for the House of Commons constituency of North Cornwall.
The 1932 Cardiganshire by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 22 September 1932 for the British House of Commons constituency of Cardiganshire.
The 1904 Rossendale by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Rossendale in Lancashire on 15 March 1904.
On 9 October 2014, a by-election was held for the UK parliamentary constituency of Heywood and Middleton. It was triggered by the death of its MP Jim Dobbin on 6 September 2014. It was held on the same day as the Clacton by-election. The Labour Party narrowly held the seat following a recount. UK Independence Party (UKIP) came second, and increased its vote by 36 percentage points since the previous general election.
