1972 Uxbridge by-election

Election in the United Kingdom August 2021 April 2012 The 1972 Uxbridge by-election was held on 7 December 1972 after Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Charles Curran had died on 16 September of the same year. The seat was retained for the Conservatives by Michael Shersby. Shersby would hold the seat until his sudden death just days after the 1997 general election.Full result https://web.archive.org/web/20120314034610/http://by-elections.co.uk/72.html 14 March 2012 http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge70/i20.htm Result at previous election 10 December 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20150616093601/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge70/i20.htm 16 June 2015 dead Candidates The by-election was contested by seven candidates, with each of the three major parliamentary parties offering candidates, three others coming from extra-parliamentary right-wing groups and a final candidate who was effectively an independent. John Clifton was the candidate for the far-right National Front. He was the party's organiser for South-West London and was also close to the local branch of the Monday Club.Martin Walker, The National Front, Fontana, 1977, pp. 125–126 Dennis Herbert Harmston ran for the Union Movement, a far-right pro-European unity party led by Oswald Mosley. Known as "Big Dan", Harmston, who worked in the management of Smithfield Market, was a long-term supporter of Mosley.Graham Macklin, Very Deeply Dyed in Black: Sir Oswald Mosley and the Resurrection of British Fascism After 1945, I.B.Tauris, 2007, p. 53 He later became known as a supporter of Enoch Powell, leading the Smithfield porters in a pro-Powell march following the Rivers of Blood speech.Camilla Schofield, Enoch Powell and the Making of Postcolonial Britain, Cambridge University Press, 2013, p. 244 Another fringe rightist party, the National Independence Party, also stood with Clare Macdonald as their candidate. Macdonald had been a member of the National Front but had switched allegiance when former Front leader John O'Brien was forced out of the group. Michael Shersby was the candidate for the Conservative Party. He had worked in industry for a number of years with the sugar company Tate & Lyle whilst also serving as a Conservative member of Westminster City Council.Obituary: Sir Michael Shersby Reginald Simmerson ran under the title "Democratic Conservative against the Common Market". Simmerson was a regular by-election candidate who campaigned against British membership of the European Community.http://www.election.demon.co.uk/by1983.html Results of By-elections in the 1983-1987 Parliament 8 October 2014 5 April 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180405203844/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/by1983.html dead Following his death in 1998 the Anti-Common Market League established a prize in his memory.http://www.bullen.demon.co.uk/acml10.htm Anti Common Market League - Autumn 2001 8 October 2014 4 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304222514/http://www.bullen.demon.co.uk/acml10.htm dead Ian Stuart was the candidate for the Liberal Party. A cargo-handler by profession and the chairman of the Joint Shop Stewards Liaison Committee, he was educated at Lewes Old Grammar School.The Times Guide to the House of Commons February 1974, Times Newspapers Ltd., 1974, p. 157 Manuela Sykes was chosen as the candidate for the Labour Party. Sykes had been a long-standing member of the Liberal Party and had been a candidate for them in a number of parliamentary elections before defecting to Labour. She too served as a member of Westminster Council.http://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/ipswich_westminster_former_liberal_democrat_candidate_manuela_sykes_wins_landmark_dementia_case_1_3364388 Former Liberal Democrat candidate Manuela Sykes wins landmark dementia case 8 October 2014 12 October 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20141012220137/http://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/ipswich_westminster_former_liberal_democrat_candidate_manuela_sykes_wins_landmark_dementia_case_1_3364388 dead Result The Conservatives retained the seat, albeit with a reduced majority and vote share. However the by-election was more noted for the comparatively high share won by the National Front in what was their "first dramatic by-election result".Walker, The National Front, p. 138 The party had campaigned at unprecedented levels, bringing in as many as 100 canvassers to get their message out to voters.Walker, The National Front, p. 139 Uxbridge by-Election, 1972http://by-elections.co.uk/72.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120314034610/http://by-elections.co.uk/72.html 1972 By Election Results 2012-03-14 dead 2015-09-08 Conservative Party (UK) Michael Shersby 14,178 42.31 -7.04 Labour Party (UK) Manuela Sykes 13,000 38.79 -2.87 Liberal Party (UK) Ian Stuart 3,650 10.89 +1.90 National Front (UK) John Clifton 2,920 8.71 New Union Movement Dan Harmston 873 2.60 New National Independence Party (UK) Clare Macdonald 551 1.64 New Democratic Conservative against the Common Market Reginald Simmerson 341 1.02 New 1,178 3.52 -4.16 35,513 Conservative Party (UK) -2.08 References Uxbridge by-election Uxbridge by-election Uxbridge by-election Uxbridge,1972 Uxbridge,1972 Category:Uxbridge