List of United Kingdom by-elections (1950–1979)

This is a list of parliamentary by-elections in the United Kingdom , with the names of the incumbent and victor and their respective parties. Where seats changed political party at the election, the result is highlighted: red for a Labour gain, blue for a Conservative gain, orange for a Liberal gain, yellow for an SNP gain, green for a Plaid Cymru gain and grey for any other gain.

Resignations

See Resignation from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom for more details.

Where the cause of by-election is given as "resignation" or "seeks re-election", this indicates that the incumbent was appointed on his or her own request to an "office of profit under the Crown", either the Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds or the Steward of the Manor of Northstead. These appointments are made as a constitutional device for leaving the House of Commons, whose Members are not permitted to resign.

By-elections

By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Liverpool Edge Hill	29 March 1979 [47 1]	Sir Arthur Irvine		Labour	David Alton		Liberal	Death
Knutsford	1 March 1979	John Davies		Conservative	Jock Bruce-Gardyne		Conservative	Resignation on medical advice
Clitheroe	1 March 1979	David Walder		Conservative	David Waddington		Conservative	Death
Pontefract and Castleford	26 October 1978	Joe Harper		Labour	Geoffrey Lofthouse		Labour	Death
Berwick and East Lothian	26 October 1978	John Mackintosh		Labour	John Home Robertson		Labour	Death
Penistone	13 July 1978	John Mendelson		Labour	Allen McKay		Labour	Death
Manchester Moss Side	13 July 1978	Frank Hatton		Labour	George Morton		Labour	Death
Hamilton	31 May 1978	Alexander Wilson		Labour	George Robertson		Labour	Death
Wycombe	27 April 1978	Sir John Hall		Conservative	Ray Whitney		Conservative	Death
Epsom and Ewell	27 April 1978	Peter Rawlinson		Conservative	Archie Hamilton		Conservative	Life peerage
Lambeth Central	20 April 1978	Marcus Lipton		Labour	John Tilley		Labour	Death
Glasgow Garscadden	13 April 1978	William Small		Labour	Donald Dewar		Labour	Death
Ilford North	2 March 1978 [47 1]	Millie Miller		Labour	Vivian Bendall		Conservative	Death
Bournemouth East	24 November 1977	John Cordle		Conservative	David Atkinson		Conservative	Resignation: found in contempt of the House
Birmingham Ladywood	18 August 1977	Brian Walden		Labour	John Sever		Labour	Appointment as presenter of LWT programme Weekend World
Saffron Walden	7 July 1977	Sir Peter Kirk		Conservative	Alan Haselhurst		Conservative	Death
Grimsby	28 April 1977	Anthony Crosland		Labour	Austin Mitchell		Labour	Death
Ashfield	28 April 1977 [47 2]	David Marquand		Labour	Tim Smith		Conservative	New career as Chief of Staff to Roy Jenkins
Birmingham Stechford	31 March 1977 [47 2]	Roy Jenkins		Labour	Andrew MacKay		Conservative	President of the European Commission
City of London and Westminster South	24 February 1977	Christopher Tugendhat		Conservative	Peter Brooke		Conservative	European Commissioner
Cambridge	2 December 1976	David Lane		Conservative	Robert Rhodes James		Conservative	New career as chairman for the Commission for Racial Equality
Workington	4 November 1976 [47 2]	Fred Peart		Labour	Richard Page		Conservative	Life peerage on appointment as Leader of the House of Lords
Walsall North	4 November 1976 [47 2]	John Stonehouse		Labour/English National	Robin Hodgson		Conservative	Resignation (convicted of insurance fraud)
Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central	4 November 1976	Edward Short		Labour	Harry Cowans		Labour	New career as chairman of Cable & Wireless
Thurrock	15 July 1976	Hugh Delargy		Labour	Oonagh McDonald		Labour	Death
Rotherham	24 June 1976	Brian O'Malley		Labour	Stanley Crowther		Labour	Death
Wirral	11 March 1976	Selwyn Lloyd		Speaker	David Hunt		Conservative	Life peerage
Carshalton	11 March 1976	Robert Carr		Conservative	Nigel Forman		Conservative	Life peerage
Coventry North West	4 March 1976	Maurice Edelman		Labour	Geoffrey Robinson		Labour	Death
Woolwich West	26 June 1975 [47 1]	William Hamling		Labour	Peter Bottomley		Conservative	Death
Gain retained at the 1979 general election. Gain not retained at the 1979 UK general election.
By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Newham South	23 May 1974	Sir Elwyn Jones		Labour	Nigel Spearing		Labour	Life peerage on appointment as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Hove	8 November 1973	Martin Maddan		Conservative	Timothy Sainsbury		Conservative	Death
Glasgow Govan	8 November 1973 [45 1]	John Rankin		Labour	Margo MacDonald		SNP	Death
Edinburgh North	8 November 1973	Earl of Dalkeith		Conservative	Alexander Fletcher		Conservative	Succession to the Peerage
Berwick-upon-Tweed	8 November 1973 [45 2]	Antony Lambton		Conservative	Alan Beith		Liberal	Resignation (scandal)
Ripon	26 July 1973 [45 1]	Malcolm Stoddart-Scott		Conservative	David Austick		Liberal	Death
Isle of Ely	26 July 1973 [45 2]	Harry Legge-Bourke		Conservative	Clement Freud		Liberal	Death
Manchester Exchange	27 June 1973	William Griffiths		Labour	Frank Hatton		Labour	Death
Westhoughton	24 May 1973	Tom Price		Labour	Roger Stott		Labour	Death
West Bromwich	24 May 1973	Maurice Foley		Labour	Betty Boothroyd		Labour	Appointment to the European Commission staff
Lincoln	1 March 1973 [45 2]	Dick Taverne		Labour/Democratic Labour	Dick Taverne		Democratic Labour	Sought re-election upon change of party allegiance
Dundee East	1 March 1973 [45 3]	George Thomson		Labour	George Machin		Labour	Appointment as European Commissioner
Chester-le-Street	1 March 1973	Norman Pentland		Labour	Giles Radice		Labour	Death
Uxbridge	7 December 1972	Charles Curran		Conservative	Michael Shersby		Conservative	Death
Sutton and Cheam	7 December 1972 [45 1]	Richard Sharples		Conservative	Graham Tope		Liberal	Governor of Bermuda
Rochdale	26 October 1972 [45 2]	Jack McCann		Labour	Cyril Smith		Liberal	Death
Southwark	4 May 1972	Ray Gunter		Labour/Independent Labour	Harry Lamborn		Labour	Resignation (dispute with party)
Kingston-upon-Thames	4 May 1972	John Boyd-Carpenter		Conservative	Norman Lamont		Conservative	Chairman of Civil Aviation Authority
Merthyr Tydfil	13 April 1972 [45 2]	S. O. Davies		Independent Labour	Edward Rowlands		Labour	Death
Macclesfield	30 September 1971	Sir Arthur Vere Harvey		Conservative	Nicholas Winterton		Conservative	Life peerage
Widnes	23 September 1971	James MacColl		Labour	Gordon Oakes		Labour	Death
Stirling and Falkirk	16 September 1971	Malcolm Macpherson		Labour	Harry Ewing		Labour	Death
Greenwich	8 July 1971	Richard Marsh		Labour	Guy Barnett		Labour	Chairman of British Rail
Hayes and Harlington	17 June 1971	Arthur Skeffington		Labour	Neville Sandelson		Labour	Death
Goole	27 May 1971	George Jeger		Labour	Edmund Marshall		Labour	Death
Bromsgrove	27 May 1971 [45 1]	James Dance		Conservative	Terry Davis		Labour	Death
Southampton Itchen	27 May 1971	Horace King		Speaker	Bob Mitchell		Labour	Life peerage
Arundel and Shoreham	1 April 1971	Henry Kerby		Conservative	Richard Luce		Conservative	Death
Liverpool Scotland	1 April 1971	Walter Alldritt		Labour	Frank Marsden		Labour	Resignation
Enfield West	19 November 1970	Iain Macleod		Conservative	Cecil Parkinson		Conservative	Death
St Marylebone	22 October 1970	Quintin Hogg		Conservative	Kenneth Baker		Conservative	Life peerage on appointment as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
Gain not retained at the February 1974 general election. Gain retained at the February 1974 UK general election. George Machin retained the seat for Labour in the by-election but lost it to the SNP in the February 1974 UK general election.
By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
South Ayrshire	19 March 1970	Emrys Hughes		Labour	James Sillars		Labour	Death
Bridgwater	12 March 1970	Gerald Wills		Conservative	Tom King		Conservative	Death
Wellingborough	4 December 1969 [44 1]	Harry Howarth		Labour	Peter Fry		Conservative	Death
Louth	4 December 1969	Sir Cyril Osborne		Conservative	Jeffrey Archer		Conservative	Death
Swindon	30 October 1969 [44 2]	Francis Noel-Baker		Labour	Christopher Ward		Conservative	Resignation
Paddington North	30 October 1969	Ben Parkin		Labour	Arthur Latham		Labour	Death
Newcastle-under-Lyme	30 October 1969	Stephen Swingler		Labour	John Golding		Labour	Death
Islington North	30 October 1969	Gerald Reynolds		Labour	Michael O'Halloran		Labour	Death
Glasgow Gorbals	30 October 1969	Alice Cullen		Labour	Frank McElhone		Labour	Death
Birmingham Ladywood	26 June 1969 [44 2]	Victor Yates		Labour	Wallace Lawler		Liberal	Death
Chichester	22 May 1969	Walter Loveys		Conservative	Christopher Chataway		Conservative	Death
Mid Ulster	17 April 1969 [44 1]	George Forrest		UUP	Bernadette Devlin		Unity	Death
Weston-super-Mare	27 March 1969	David Webster		Conservative	Jerry Wiggin		Conservative	Death
Walthamstow East	27 March 1969 [44 1]	William Robinson		Labour	Michael McNair-Wilson		Conservative	Death
Brighton Pavilion	27 March 1969	Sir William Teeling		Conservative	Julian Amery		Conservative	Resignation
New Forest	7 November 1968	Oliver Crosthwaite-Eyre		Conservative	Patrick McNair-Wilson		Conservative	Resignation
Bassetlaw	31 October 1968	Frederick Bellenger		Labour	Joseph Ashton		Labour	Death
Caerphilly	18 July 1968	Ness Edwards		Labour	Alfred Evans		Labour	Death
Nelson and Colne	27 June 1968 [44 1]	Sydney Silverman		Labour	David Waddington		Conservative	Death
Sheffield Brightside	13 June 1968	Richard Winterbottom		Labour	Edward Griffiths		Labour	Death
Oldham West	13 June 1968 [44 2]	Leslie Hale		Labour	Bruce Campbell		Conservative	Resignation
Warwick and Leamington	28 March 1968	John Hobson		Conservative	Dudley Smith		Conservative	Death
Meriden	28 March 1968 [44 1]	Christopher Rowland		Labour	Keith Speed		Conservative	Death
Dudley	28 March 1968 [44 2]	George Wigg		Labour	Donald Williams		Conservative	Life peerage on appointment as chairman of Horserace Betting Levy Board
Acton	28 March 1968 [44 2]	Bernard Floud		Labour	Kenneth Baker		Conservative	Death (suicide)
Kensington South	14 March 1968	William Roots		Conservative	Sir Brandon Rhys Williams		Conservative	Resignation (ill-health?)
Derbyshire West	23 November 1967	Aidan Crawley		Conservative	James Scott-Hopkins		Conservative	Appointment as chairman of London Weekend Television
Manchester Gorton	2 November 1967	Konni Zilliacus		Labour	Kenneth Marks		Labour	Death
Leicester South West	2 November 1967 [44 1]	Herbert Bowden		Labour	Thomas Boardman		Conservative	Appointment as chairman of Independent Television Authority
Hamilton	2 November 1967 [44 2]	Thomas Fraser		Labour	Winifred Ewing		SNP	Appointment to North Scotland Hydro-Electricity Board
Walthamstow West	21 September 1967 [44 2]	Edward Redhead		Labour	Frederick Silvester		Conservative	Death
Cambridge	21 September 1967 [44 1]	Robert Davies		Labour	David Lane		Conservative	Death
Brierley Hill	27 April 1967	John Talbot		Conservative	Fergus Montgomery		Conservative	Death
Honiton	16 March 1967	Robert Mathew		Conservative	Peter Emery		Conservative	Death
Rhondda West	9 March 1967	Iorwerth Thomas		Labour	Alec Jones		Labour	Death
Nuneaton	9 March 1967	Frank Cousins		Labour	Leslie Huckfield		Labour	Resignation
Glasgow Pollok	9 March 1967 [44 2]	Alexander Garrow		Labour	Esmond Wright		Conservative	Death
Carmarthen	14 July 1966 [44 2]	Megan Lloyd George		Labour	Gwynfor Evans		Plaid Cymru	Death
Gain retained at the 1970 general election. Gain not retained at the 1970 UK general election.
By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Kingston upon Hull North	27 January 1966	Henry Solomons		Labour	Kevin McNamara		Labour	Death
Erith and Crayford	11 November 1965	Norman Dodds		Labour	James Wellbeloved		Labour	Death
Cities of London and Westminster	4 November 1965	Sir Harry Hylton-Foster		Speaker	John Smith		Conservative	Death
Hove	22 July 1965	Anthony Marlowe		Conservative	Martin Maddan		Conservative	Resignation (ill-health)
Birmingham Hall Green	6 May 1965	Aubrey Jones		Conservative	Reginald Eyre		Conservative	Appointment as chairman of National Board for Prices and Incomes
Abertillery	1 April 1965	Llywelyn Williams		Labour	Clifford Williams		Labour	Death
Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles	24 March 1965 [43 1]	Charles Donaldson		Conservative	David Steel		Liberal	Death
Saffron Walden	23 March 1965	R. A. Butler		Conservative	Peter Kirk		Conservative	Life peerage
Salisbury	4 February 1965	John Morrison		Conservative	Michael Hamilton		Conservative	Hereditary peerage
East Grinstead	4 February 1965	Evelyn Emmet		Conservative	Geoffrey Johnson Smith		Conservative	Life peerage
Altrincham and Sale	4 February 1965	Fred Erroll		Conservative	Anthony Barber		Conservative	Hereditary peerage
Nuneaton	21 January 1965	Frank Bowles		Labour	Frank Cousins		Labour	Life peerage to provide seat for Minister of Technology Frank Cousins
Leyton	21 January 1965 [43 2]	Reg Sorensen		Labour	Ronald Buxton		Conservative	Life peerage to provide seat for Foreign Secretary Patrick Gordon Walker
Gain retained at the 1966 general election. Gain not retained at the 1966 UK general election.
By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Liverpool Scotland	11 June 1964	David Logan		Labour	Walter Alldritt		Labour	Death
Faversham	4 June 1964	Percy Wells		Labour	Terence Boston		Labour	Death
Winchester	14 May 1964	Peter Smithers		Conservative	Morgan Morgan-Giles		Conservative	Appointment as Secretary-General of Council of Europe
Rutherglen	14 May 1964 [42 1]	Richard Brooman-White		Conservative	Gregor Mackenzie		Labour	Death
Devizes	14 May 1964	Percivall Pott		Conservative	Charles Morrison		Conservative	Death
Bury St Edmunds	14 May 1964	Sir William Aitken		Conservative	Eldon Griffiths		Conservative	Death
Dumfriesshire	12 December 1963	Niall MacPherson		Conservative	David Anderson		Conservative	Hereditary peerage
Sudbury and Woodbridge	5 December 1963	John Hare		Conservative	Keith Stainton		Conservative	Hereditary peerage
St Marylebone	5 December 1963	Sir Wavell Wakefield		Conservative	Quintin Hogg		Conservative	Hereditary peerage
Manchester Openshaw	5 December 1963	William Williams		Labour	Charles Morris		Labour	Death
Dundee West	21 November 1963	John Strachey		Labour	Peter Doig		Labour	Death
Luton	7 November 1963 [42 1]	Dr. Charles Hill		Conservative	Will Howie		Labour	Life peerage on appointment as chairman of Independent Television Authority
Kinross and Western Perthshire	7 November 1963	Gilmour Leburn		Conservative	Sir Alec Douglas-Home		Conservative	Death
Belfast South	22 October 1963	Sir David Campbell		UUP	Rafton Pounder		UUP	Death
Bristol South East	20 August 1963 [42 1] [42 2]	Malcolm St Clair		Conservative	Tony Benn		Labour	Resignation
Stratford	15 August 1963	John Profumo		Conservative	Angus Maude		Conservative	Resignation (lying to the House of Commons)
West Bromwich	4 July 1963	John Dugdale		Labour	Maurice Foley		Labour	Death
Deptford	4 July 1963	Sir Leslie Plummer		Labour	John Silkin		Labour	Death
Leeds South	20 June 1963	Hugh Gaitskell		Labour	Merlyn Rees		Labour	Death
Swansea East	28 March 1963	David Mort		Labour	Neil McBride		Labour	Death
Rotherham	28 March 1963	Jack Jones		Labour	Brian O'Malley		Labour	Death (road accident)
Colne Valley	21 March 1963	Glenvil Hall		Labour	Patrick Duffy		Labour	Death
Northamptonshire South	22 November 1962	Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller		Conservative	Arthur Jones		Conservative	Hereditary peerage on appointment as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
Norfolk Central	22 November 1962	Richard Collard		Conservative	Ian Gilmour		Conservative	Death
Glasgow Woodside	22 November 1962 [42 1]	William Grant		Conservative	Neil Carmichael		Labour	Appointment as Lord Justice Clerk
Dorset South	22 November 1962 [42 3]	Viscount Hinchingbrooke		Conservative	Guy Barnett		Labour	Succession to peerage
Chippenham	22 November 1962	David Eccles		Conservative	Daniel Awdry		Conservative	Hereditary peerage
Leicester North East	12 July 1962	Sir Lynn Ungoed-Thomas		Labour	Tom Bradley		Labour	Appointment as High Court Judge
West Lothian	14 June 1962	John Taylor		Labour	Tam Dalyell		Labour	Death
West Derbyshire	6 June 1962	Edward Wakefield		Conservative	Aidan Crawley		Conservative	Appointment as Commissioner for Malta
Middlesbrough West	6 June 1962 [42 1]	Sir Jocelyn Simon		Conservative	Jeremy Bray		Labour	Appointment as President of Probate Division of the High Court
Montgomeryshire	15 May 1962	Clement Davies		Liberal	Emlyn Hooson		Liberal	Death
Derby North	17 April 1962	Clifford Wilcock		Labour	Niall MacDermot		Labour	Death
Stockton-on-Tees	5 April 1962	George Chetwynd		Labour	Bill Rodgers		Labour	Appointment as director of North-East Development Council
Pontefract	22 March 1962	George Sylvester		Labour	Joseph Harper		Labour	Death
Orpington	14 March 1962 [42 1]	Donald Sumner		Conservative	Eric Lubbock		Liberal	Appointment as County Court Judge
Middlesbrough East	14 March 1962	Hilary Marquand		Labour	Arthur Bottomley		Labour	Appointment as director of International Institute for Labour Studies, Geneva
Blackpool North	13 March 1962	Toby Low		Conservative	Norman Miscampbell		Conservative	Hereditary peerage
Lincoln	8 March 1962	Geoffrey de Freitas		Labour	Dick Taverne		Labour	Appointed as High Commissioner to Ghana
Glasgow Bridgeton	16 November 1961	James Carmichael		Labour	James Bennett		Labour	Resignation (ill-health?)
Oswestry	9 November 1961	David Ormsby-Gore		Conservative	John Biffen		Conservative	Appointment as Ambassador to the United States
East Fife	9 November 1961	Sir James Henderson-Stewart, Bt.		Conservative	Sir John E. Gilmour		Conservative	Death
Manchester Moss Side	7 November 1961	James Watts		Conservative	Frank Taylor		Conservative	Death
Bristol South East	4 May 1961 [42 2]	Tony Benn		Labour	Malcolm St Clair		Conservative	Succession to peerage
Warrington	20 April 1961	Dr Edith Summerskill		Labour	Thomas Williams		Labour	Life peerage
Paisley	20 April 1961	Douglas Johnston		Labour	John Robertson		Labour	Appointment to Court of Session
Birmingham Small Heath	23 March 1961	William Wheeldon		Labour	Denis Howell		Labour	Death
Worcester	16 March 1961	George Ward		Conservative	Peter Walker		Conservative	Hereditary peerage
High Peak	16 March 1961	Hugh Molson		Conservative	David Walder		Conservative	Life peerage
Colchester	16 March 1961	Cuthbert Alport		Conservative	Antony Buck		Conservative	Life peerage on appointment as High Commissioner to Rhodesia
Cambridgeshire	16 March 1961	Gerald Howard		Conservative	Francis Pym		Conservative	Appointment as High Court Judge
Blyth	24 November 1960	Alfred Robens		Labour	Eddie Milne		Labour	Appointment as chairman of National Coal Board
Ebbw Vale	17 November 1960	Aneurin Bevan		Labour	Michael Foot		Labour	Death
Tiverton	16 November 1960	Derick Heathcoat-Amory		Conservative	Robin Maxwell-Hyslop		Conservative	Hereditary peerage
Petersfield	16 November 1960	Hon. Peter Legh		Conservative	Joan Quennell		Conservative	Succession to peerage
Ludlow	16 November 1960	Christopher Holland-Martin		Conservative	Jasper More		Conservative	Death
Carshalton	16 November 1960	Antony Head		Conservative	Walter Elliot		Conservative	Hereditary peerage on appointment as High Commissioner to Nigeria
Bolton East	16 November 1960 [42 4]	Philip Bell		Conservative	Edwin Taylor		Conservative	Appointment as County Court Judge
Mid Bedfordshire	16 November 1960	Alan Lennox-Boyd		Conservative	Stephen Hastings		Conservative	Hereditary peerage
Edinburgh North	19 May 1960	William Rankine Milligan		Conservative	John Montagu-Douglas-Scott, Earl of Dalkeith		Conservative	Appointment to Court of Session
Harrow West	17 March 1960	Sir Albert Braithwaite		Conservative	John Page		Conservative	Death (suicide)
Brighouse and Spenborough	17 March 1960 [42 5]	Lewis John Edwards		Labour	Michael Shaw		Conservative	Death
Gain retained at the 1964 general election. Tony Benn won the most votes but was disqualified by virtue of his Peerage; the Election Court declared Malcolm St Clair duly elected. St Clair undertook that if the law was changed to allow Benn to disclaim his hereditary peerage, he would resign and create a by-election. The law was changed by the Peerage Act 1963 and St Clair duly resigned, allowing Benn to return to the Commons in 1963. Gain not retained at the 1964 UK general election. Edwin Taylor retained the seat for the Conservatives in the by-election but lost it to Labour in the 1964 UK general election. A rare occasion when an incumbent government gained a seat from the opposition in a by-election, although it was lost at the 1964 UK general election.
By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Whitehaven	18 June 1959	Frank Anderson		Labour	Joseph Symonds		Labour	Death
Penistone	11 June 1959	Henry McGhee		Labour	John Mendelson		Labour	Death
Galloway	9 April 1959	John Mackie		Conservative	John Brewis		Conservative	Death
South West Norfolk	25 March 1959	Sidney Dye		Labour	Albert Hilton		Labour	Death (road accident)
Harrow East	19 March 1959	Ian Harvey		Conservative	Anthony Courtney		Conservative	Resignation (scandal)
Belfast East	19 March 1959	Alan McKibbin		UUP	Stanley McMaster		UUP	Death
Southend West	29 January 1959	Sir Henry Channon		Conservative	Paul Channon		Conservative	Death
Shoreditch and Finsbury	27 November 1958	Victor Collins		Labour	Michael Cliffe		Labour	Elevation to a life peerage
East Aberdeenshire	20 November 1958	Sir Robert Boothby		Conservative	Patrick Wolrige-Gordon		Conservative	Elevation to a life peerage
Pontypool	10 November 1958	Granville West		Labour	Leo Abse		Labour	Elevation to a life peerage
Chichester	6 November 1958	Hon. Sir Lancelot Joynson-Hicks		Conservative	Walter Loveys		Conservative	Succession to the peerage
Morecambe and Lonsdale	6 November 1958	Sir Ian Fraser		Conservative	Basil de Ferranti		Conservative	Elevation to a life peerage
Argyll	12 June 1958	Sir Duncan McCallum		Conservative	Michael Noble		Conservative	Death
Weston-super-Mare	12 June 1958	Sir Ian Orr-Ewing		Conservative	David Webster		Conservative	Death
Wigan	12 June 1958	Ronald Williams		Labour	Alan Fitch		Labour	Death
St Helens	12 June 1958	Sir Hartley Shawcross		Labour	Leslie Spriggs		Labour	Resignation
Ealing South	12 June 1958	Angus Maude		Conservative	Brian Batsford		Conservative	Resignation
Islington North	15 May 1958	Wilfred Fienburgh		Labour	Gerald Reynolds		Labour	Death (road accident)
Torrington	27 March 1958 [41 1]	George Lambert		National Liberal and Conservative	Mark Bonham-Carter		Liberal	Succession to peerage
Glasgow Kelvingrove	13 March 1958 [41 1]	Walter Elliot		Conservative	Mary McAlister		Labour	Death
Rochdale	12 February 1958 [41 2]	Wentworth Schofield		Conservative	Jack McCann		Labour	Death
Liverpool Garston	5 December 1957	Sir Victor Raikes		Conservative / Independent Conservative	Richard Bingham		Conservative	Resignation (dispute with party)
Leicester South-East	28 November 1957	Charles Waterhouse		Conservative	John Peel		Conservative	Resignation
Ipswich	24 October 1957	Richard Stokes		Labour	Dingle Foot		Labour	Death
Gloucester	12 September 1957	Moss Turner-Samuels		Labour	Jack Diamond		Labour	Death
North Dorset	27 June 1957	Robert Crouch		Conservative	Richard Glyn		Conservative	Death
Hornsey	30 May 1957	Sir David Gammans		Conservative	Lady Muriel Gammans		Conservative	Death
East Ham North	30 May 1957	Percy Daines		Labour	Reginald Prentice		Labour	Death
Edinburgh South	29 May 1957	Sir William Darling		Conservative	Michael Hutchison		Conservative	Resignation
Newcastle-upon-Tyne North	21 March 1957	Gwilym Lloyd George		National Liberal and Conservative	William Elliott		Conservative	Elevation to a hereditary peerage
Beckenham	21 March 1957	Patrick Buchan-Hepburn		Conservative	Philip Goodhart		Conservative	Elevation to a hereditary peerage
Warwick and Leamington	7 March 1957	Sir Anthony Eden		Conservative	John Hobson		Conservative	Resignation due to ill health
Bristol West	7 March 1957	Walter Monckton		Conservative	Robert Cooke		Conservative	Elevation to a hereditary peerage
Carmarthen	28 February 1957 [41 2]	Rhys Hopkin Morris		Liberal	Megan Lloyd George		Labour	Death
Wednesbury	28 February 1957	Stanley Evans		Labour	John Stonehouse		Labour	Resignation (disagreement with party over Suez)
Lewisham North	14 February 1957 [41 1]	Sir Austin Hudson, Bt.		Conservative	Niall MacDermot		Labour	Death
Melton	19 December 1956	Anthony Nutting		Conservative	Mervyn Pike		Conservative	Resignation (disagreement with party over Suez)
City of Chester	15 November 1956	Basil Nield		Conservative	John Temple		Conservative	Recorder of Manchester
Chester-le-Street	27 September 1956	Patrick Bartley		Labour	Norman Pentland		Labour	Death
Newport	6 July 1956	Peter Freeman		Labour	Sir Frank Soskice		Labour	Death
Tonbridge	7 June 1956	Gerald Williams		Conservative	Richard Hornby		Conservative	Resignation
Mid Ulster	8 May 1956 [41 3]	Charles Beattie		UUP	George Forrest		Ind. Unionist	Disqualification
Walthamstow West	1 March 1956	Clement Attlee		Labour	Edward Redhead		Labour	Elevation to a hereditary peerage
Taunton	14 February 1956	Henry Hopkinson		Conservative	Edward du Cann		Conservative	Elevation to a hereditary peerage
Gainsborough	14 February 1956	Harry Crookshank		Conservative	Marcus Kimball		Conservative	Elevation to a hereditary peerage
Hereford	14 February 1956	James Thomas		Conservative	David Gibson-Watt		Conservative	Elevation to a hereditary peerage
Leeds North East	9 February 1956	Osbert Peake		Conservative	Sir Keith Joseph, Bt.		Conservative	Elevation to a hereditary peerage
Blaydon	2 February 1956	William Whiteley		Labour	Robert Woof		Labour	Death
Torquay	15 December 1955	Charles Williams		Conservative	Frederic Bennett		Conservative	Death
Greenock	8 December 1955	Hector McNeil		Labour	Dickson Mabon		Labour	Death
Gateshead West	7 December 1955	John Hall		Labour	Harry Randall		Labour	Death
Mid Ulster	11 August 1955 [41 3]	Tom Mitchell		Sinn Féin	Charles Beattie		UUP	Disqualification
Gain not retained at the 1959 general election. Gain retained at the 1959 UK general election. Tom Mitchell won the most votes in the 1955 general election but was disqualified by the House of Commons on the grounds that he was a convicted felon. A by-election was called at which Mitchell again stood and won the most votes. On this occasion an election petition was lodged and Mitchell was again disqualified with the Election Court declaring his opponent Charles Beattie duly elected. It was then discovered that Beattie was ineligible to sit because he held offices of profit under the Crown. Beattie was indemnified by Parliament against the consequences of sitting and voting while ineligible, and a further writ was moved. In the subsequent by-election Independent Unionist George Forrest gained more votes than Mitchell and duly took his seat. Subsequently Forrest took the Ulster Unionist whip and won the seat in his new party colours at the 1959 general election.
By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Wrexham	17 March 1955	Robert Richards		Labour	Idwal Jones		Labour	Death
Stockport South	3 February 1955	Arnold Gridley		Conservative	Harold Steward		Conservative	Elevation to a hereditary peerage
Edinburgh North	27 January 1955	James Clyde		Conservative	William Rankine Milligan		Conservative	Lord President, Court of Session
Twickenham	25 January 1955	Edward Keeling		Conservative	Roger Gresham Cooke		Conservative	Death
Orpington	20 January 1955	Waldron Smithers		Conservative	Donald Sumner		Conservative	Death
South Norfolk	13 January 1955	Peter Baker		Conservative	John Hill		Conservative	Expelled from the House (convicted of fraud)
Inverness	21 December 1954	Malcolm Douglas-Hamilton		Conservative	Neil McLean		Conservative	Resignation
Armagh	20 November 1954 [40 1] [40 2]	James Harden		UUP	Christopher Armstrong		UUP	Resignation
Liverpool West Derby	18 November 1954	Sir David Maxwell Fyfe		Conservative	John Woollam		Conservative	Hereditary peerage on appointment as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
Morpeth	4 November 1954	Robert Taylor		Labour	Will Owen		Labour	Death
Sutton and Cheam	4 November 1954	Sydney Marshall		Conservative	Richard Sharples		Conservative	Resignation
Aberdare	28 October 1954	David Thomas		Labour	Arthur Probert		Labour	Death
Aldershot	28 October 1954	Oliver Lyttelton		Conservative	Eric Errington		Conservative	Elevation to a hereditary peerage
Wakefield	21 October 1954	Arthur Greenwood		Labour	Arthur Creech Jones		Labour	Death
Shoreditch and Finsbury	21 October 1954	Ernest Thurtle		Labour	Victor Collins		Labour	Death
Croydon East	30 September 1954	Herbert Williams		Conservative	John Hughes-Hallett		Conservative	Death
Motherwell	14 April 1954	Alexander Anderson		Labour	George Lawson		Labour	Death
Edinburgh East	8 April 1954	John Wheatley		Labour	Eustace Willis		Labour	Judge, Court of Session
Harrogate	11 March 1954	Christopher York		Conservative	James Ramsden		Conservative	Resignation
Arundel and Shoreham	9 March 1954	William Cuthbert		Conservative	Henry Kerby		Conservative	Resignation
Bournemouth West	18 February 1954	Viscount Cranborne		Conservative	John Eden		Conservative	Resignation
Harwich	11 February 1954	Stanley Holmes		National Liberal and Conservative	Julian Ridsdale		National Liberal and Conservative	Elevation to a hereditary peerage
Haltemprice	11 February 1954	Richard Law		Conservative	Patrick Wall		Conservative	Elevation to a hereditary peerage
Ilford North	3 February 1954	Geoffrey Hutchinson		Conservative	Tom Iremonger		Conservative	Chairman, National Assistance Board
Paddington North	3 December 1953	William J. Field		Labour	Ben Parkin		Labour	Resignation (scandal)
Holborn and St Pancras South	19 November 1953	Santo Jeger		Labour	Lena Jeger		Labour	Death
Ormskirk	12 November 1953	Arthur Salter		Conservative	Douglas Glover		Conservative	Elevation to a hereditary peerage
Crosby	12 November 1953	Malcolm Bullock		Conservative	Graham Page		Conservative	Resignation
Broxtowe	17 September 1953	Seymour Cocks		Labour	William Warbey		Labour	Death
Birmingham Edgbaston	2 July 1953	Peter Bennett		Conservative	Edith Pitt		Conservative	Elevation to a hereditary peerage
Abingdon	30 June 1953	Ralph Glyn		Conservative	Airey Neave		Conservative	Elevation to a hereditary peerage
Sunderland South	13 May 1953 [40 3]	Richard Ewart		Labour	Paul Williams		Conservative	Death
North Down	15 April 1953 [40 1]	Walter Smiles		UUP	Patricia Ford		UUP	Death (drowned in ferry disaster)
Hayes and Harlington	1 April 1953	Walter Ayles		Labour	Arthur Skeffington		Labour	Resignation
Stoke-on-Trent North	31 March 1953	Albert Davies		Labour	Harriet Slater		Labour	Death
Barnsley	31 March 1953	Sidney Schofield		Labour	Roy Mason		Labour	Resignation
Isle of Thanet	12 March 1953	Hon. Edward Carson		Conservative	William Rees-Davies		Conservative	Resignation
Canterbury	12 February 1953	John Baker White		Conservative	Leslie Thomas		Conservative	Resignation
Farnworth	27 November 1952	George Tomlinson		Labour	Ernest Thornton		Labour	Death
Birmingham Small Heath	27 November 1952	Fred Longden		Labour	William Wheeldon		Labour	Death
Belfast South	4 November 1952	Connolly Gage		UUP	David Campbell		UUP	Resignation
Wycombe	4 November 1952	Hon. William Astor		Conservative	John Hall		Conservative	Succession to the peerage
North Antrim	27 October 1952 [40 1]	Sir Hugh O'Neill		UUP	Phelim O'Neill		UUP	Resignation
Cleveland	23 October 1952	George Willey		Labour	Arthur Palmer		Labour	Death
Dundee East	17 July 1952	Thomas Cook		Labour	George Thomson		Labour	Death (road accident)
Leeds South East	7 February 1952	James Milner		Labour	Denis Healey		Labour	Elevation to a hereditary peerage
Southport	6 February 1952	Robert Hudson		Conservative	Roger Fleetwood-Hesketh		Conservative	Elevation to a hereditary peerage
Bournemouth East and Christchurch	6 February 1952	Brendan Bracken		Conservative	Nigel Nicolson		Conservative	Elevation to a hereditary peerage
An uncontested by-election. The Armagh by-election was the last time to date when a UK Parliamentary election was uncontested. A rare occasion when an incumbent government gained a seat from the opposition in a by-election. The gain was held at the 1955 general election. 1950–1951 Parliament No seats changed hands during this Parliament.
By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Westhoughton	21 June 1951	Rhys Davies		Labour	Tom Price		Labour	Illness
Woolwich East	14 June 1951	Ernest Bevin		Labour	Christopher Mayhew		Labour	Death
Londonderry	19 May 1951 [39 1]	Ronald Ross		UUP	William Wellwood		UUP	Appointment as Northern Ireland Government Agent in London
Harrow West	21 April 1951	Norman Bower		Conservative	Albert Braithwaite		Conservative	Resignation
Ormskirk	5 April 1951	Ronald Cross		Conservative	Arthur Salter		Conservative	Appointment as Governor of Tasmania
Bristol West	15 February 1951	Oliver Stanley		Conservative	Walter Monckton		Conservative	Death
Abertillery	30 November 1950	George Daggar		Labour	Llywelyn Williams		Labour	Death
Bristol South East	30 November 1950	Stafford Cripps		Labour	Tony Benn		Labour	Resignation (ill-health)
Belfast West	29 November 1950 [39 2]	James Godfrey MacManaway		UUP	Thomas Teevan		UUP	Disqualified
Birmingham Handsworth	16 November 1950	Harold Roberts		Conservative	Edward Boyle		Conservative	Death
Oxford	2 November 1950	Quintin Hogg		Conservative	Lawrence Turner		Conservative	Succession to the Peerage
Glasgow Scotstoun	25 October 1950	Sir Arthur Young, Bt		Conservative	James Hutchison		Conservative	Death
Leicester North East	28 September 1950	Terence Donovan		Labour	Lynn Ungoed-Thomas		Labour	Appointment as High Court Judge
Brighouse and Spenborough	4 May 1950	Frederick Cobb		Labour	John Edwards		Labour	Death
Dunbartonshire West	25 April 1950	Adam McKinlay		Labour	Tom Steele		Labour	Death
Sheffield Neepsend	5 April 1950	Harry Morris		Labour	Frank Soskice		Labour	Resignation to provide a seat for Solicitor General Frank Soskice
Uncontested by-election. MacManaway had been ordained a priest in the Church of Ireland in 1925. Before his candidature he sought legal advice and resigned all offices in the Church. However, after his election the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council determined him ineligible to sit, ruling that the House of Commons (Clergy Disqualification) Act 1801 disqualified him.

See also

• List of United Kingdom by-elections (1979–2010)
• United Kingdom by-election records

References

• United Kingdom Election Results (David Boothroyd)
• United Kingdom Elections (Keele University)
• British Parliamentary By-Elections since 1945
• List of MPs since 1660 ^[usurped]
• F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1950–73
• F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1974–83
• F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Statistics 1832–1987
• F. W. S. Craig, Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987