1976 Walsall North by-election

1976 Walsall North by-election

←  Oct. 1974 4 November 1976 1979  →
Constituency of Walsall North
First party Second party   Lab Candidate Robin Hodgson David Winnick Party Conservative Labour Popular vote 16,212 11,833 Percentage 43.35% 31.64% Swing 17.2% 27.85%   Third party Fourth party   Ind. NF Candidate Sidney Wright Joseph Parker Party Independent National Front Popular vote 4,374 2,724 Percentage 11.70% 7.28% Swing N/A N/A
MP before election John Stonehouse English National Elected MP Robin Hodgson Conservative

The Walsall North by-election on 4 November 1976 was held after the resignation of sitting Member of Parliament (MP) John Stonehouse. Elected as a Labour candidate, Stonehouse was a member of the English National Party when he resigned, after an interlude in which he faked his own death. ^[1] The English National Party did not contest the by-election, the first occasion on which the incumbent's party did not do so since the 1963 Bristol South East by-election, and the last until the 1995 North Down by-election.

Amidst the confusion, the Conservative Party gained the seat in the by-election.

The by-election was also noted for the performance of independent candidate Sidney Wright, the debut of the Ecology Party ^[2] and the split of the far right vote due to the appearance of both the National Front and their splinter group the National Party on the ballots. ^[3] The Liberal Party could take only fifth place, their worst ever placing in a by-election in England. The party had previously come fifth in Wales in the 1972 Merthyr Tydfil by-election, and next placed so low at the 1989 Glasgow Central by-election.

The by-election also saw a record number of candidates, beating the long-standing record of seven who contested the 1920 Stockport by-election, where two seats were available, a total first reached in a single-member by-election in the 1962 Dorset South by-election. This record was again beaten at the 1977 City of London and Westminster South by-election.

Joseph Parker, the National Front candidate, would go on to be father-in-law to John Tyndall, the leader of the National Front, after Tyndall married Parker's daughter Valerie in 1977.

Results

Walsall North by-Election, 1976 ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robin Hodgson	16,212	43.35	+17.2
	Labour	David Winnick	11,833	31.64	−27.85
	Independent	Sidney Wright	4,374	11.70	New
	National Front	Joseph Parker	2,724	7.28	New
	Liberal	Frances Oborski	1,212	3.24	−13.1
	Socialist Workers	James McCallum	574	1.53	New
	National Party	Marian Powell	258	0.69	New
	Ecology	Jonathan Tyler	181	0.48	New
	Air, Road, Public Safety, White Resident	Bill Boaks	30	0.08	New
Majority			4,379	11.71	N/A
Turnout			37,398
	Conservative gain from English National		Swing

See also

• United Kingdom by-election records

References

1. 1976: Government crisis as Stonehouse quits
2. Green Party history, Derek Wall
3. M. Walker, The National Front, Glasgow: Fontana Collins, 1977
4. "1976 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2015.