1973 Isle of Ely by-election

Last updated

The 1973 Isle of Ely by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 26 July 1973 for the British House of Commons constituency of Isle of Ely.

Contents

The by-election took place during the 1970s Liberal Party revival. This seat and Ripon were gained on the same day, the third and fourth Liberal gains during the Parliament. This was the first time since 1899 that the Liberal Party had made two by-election gains on the same day, when it won both seats in a two-member constituency at the Oldham by-election. The last time the party had gained two seats, in different constituencies on the same day, was on 2 June 1896, at the Frome and the Wick Burghs by-elections.

Previous MP

The seat had become vacant on the death of the constituency's Member of Parliament (MP), Major Sir Harry Legge-Bourke KBE (16 May 1914 – 21 May 1973). Legge-Bourke, a Conservative, had gained the seat from the Liberal Party in the 1945 general election. [1]

Candidates

Three 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 Clement Freud. He was the grandson of Sigmund Freud and a well-known writer and broadcaster.

Freud won the by-election, in a seat which his party had not contested in the 1970 general election. He retained the constituency until it was renamed in 1983, with most of the territory incorporated into the constituency of North East Cambridgeshire. Freud retained that seat until he was defeated in the 1987 general election.

The Conservative candidate was J. B. Stevens, who had contested Birmingham Stechford in the 1970 general election. Stevens again lost to Clement Freud, in Ely, at the February 1974 general election.

The Labour Party was represented by B. A. Young.

Result and votes

1973 by-election: Isle of Ely [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Clement Freud 17,390 38.3 New
Conservative J. B. Stevens15,92035.0−24.9
Labour B. A. Young12,15326.7−13.4
Majority1,4703.3N/A
Turnout 45,46365.8−6.1
Registered electors 69,069
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +31.6

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Legge-Bourke</span> British Army officer and politician (1914–1973)

Major Sir Edward Alexander Henry Legge-Bourke,, was a British Conservative politician, and a Member of Parliament for Isle of Ely from 1945 until his death in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Stuttaford</span> British medical doctor, columnist and politician

Irving Thomas Stuttaford, was a British medical doctor, columnist, and politician who served as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Norwich South between 1970 and 1974. In 2002 he retired as Senior Medical Advisor for Barclays Bank.

Inverness-shire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1918.

Oxford University was a university constituency electing two members to the British House of Commons, from 1603 to 1950. The last two members to represent Oxford University when it was abolished were A. P. Herbert and Arthur Salter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chelsea (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885–1997

Chelsea was a borough constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Westminster Abbey was a constituency in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croydon (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885–1918

Croydon was a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 1885 to 1918. As with most in its lifetime following the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, it was a seat, that elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Finsbury East was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Finsbury district of North London, England. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.

Portsmouth was a borough constituency based upon the borough of Portsmouth in Hampshire. It returned two members of parliament (MPs) to the Parliaments of England, Great Britain and from 1801 the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the bloc vote system.

The 1985 Brecon and Radnor by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 4 July 1985 for the House of Commons constituency of Brecon and Radnor.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1972 Rochdale by-election</span> British parliamentary contest in Greater Manchester

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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1973 Berwick-upon-Tweed by-election</span>

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 1917 Liverpool Abercromby by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 28 June 1917 for the British House of Commons constituency of Liverpool Abercromby. The seat had become vacant when the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Richard Chaloner had taken the post of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds on 18 June 1917, thus effectively resigning from the Commons. Five days later, Chaloner was created Baron Gisborough. He had been MP from Liverpool Abercromby since the January 1910 general election. The Conservative candidate, Lord Stanley held the seat for the party. He remained the constituency's MP until the seat was abolished for the 1918 general election.

The 1939 North Cornwall by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 13 July 1939 for the British House of Commons constituency of North Cornwall.

The 1890 Caernarvon Boroughs by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 10 April 1890 for the British House of Commons constituency of Caernarvon Boroughs.

The 1913 Shrewsbury by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 22 April 1913. The constituency returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

References

  1. ↑ Monger, Garry (2024). "Fenland's First MP". The Fens (98): 20.
  2. ↑ "1973 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2015.


Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Vote icon.svg

This United Kingdom election-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.