1969 Walthamstow East by-election

UK Parliamentary by-election August 2019 August 2019 The 1969 Walthamstow East by-election of 27 March 1969 was held following the death of Labour Member of Parliament (MP) William Robinson. The seat was won by the opposition Conservative Party.http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge66/i20.htm Result from previous election 4 January 2011 11 August 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110811174313/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge66/i20.htm dead Background The Conservatives had gained the seat from Labour in 1955 and held it at the next two elections.Craig F. W. S. British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1970 1971 Political Reference Publications Chichester 0-900178-02-7 299 In 1964 the Conservative majority had fallen to just 395 votes over Labour, whose candidate was William Robinson, a solicitor who had been a member of Leyton Borough Council between 1945 and 1952 and then had been elected to Wanstead and Woodford Borough Council, serving as Mayor of the latter in 1962–63.The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1966 1966 The Times Office London 209 In 1966 Robinson had stood again and had taken the seat for Labour with a majority of 1,807 votes. Result Walthamstow East by-election, 1969http://by-elections.co.uk/69.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120314034618/http://by-elections.co.uk/69.html 1969 By Election Results 2012-03-14 dead British Elections Ephemera Archive 2015-08-26 Conservative Party (UK) Michael McNair-Wilson 13,158 63.15 +20.82 Labour Party (UK) Colin Phipps 7,679 36.85 -10.98 5,479 26.30 N/A 20,837 Conservative Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) +15.9 Previous result General election 1966: Walthamstow East Labour Party (UK) William Robinson 15,703 47.83 +6.1 Conservative Party (UK) John Harvey 13,896 42.33 -0.6 Liberal Party (UK) John Peter James Ellis 3,229 9.84 -5.5 1,807 5.50 N/A 32,828 80.11 +0.8 Labour Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) +3.4 Aftermath This defeat marked the twelfth time that Labour had failed to successfully defend a seat it held at a by-election since the last general election. Labour still seeking turn of the tide https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19690328&printsec=frontpage&hl=en 8 February 2021 The Glasgow Herald 28 March 1969 1 The gain at Walthamstow was one of three Conservative wins in by-elections held that day, with the Party also retaining Brighton Pavilion and holding Weston-super-Mare from Labour. Across the three contests there was an average swing of 16% from Labour to Conservative, which Conservative Shadow Home Secretary Quintin Hogg noted would give his party a comfortable majority in the House of Commons if repeated at the next general election. Anthony Barber, the Chairman of the Conservative Party, noted that his party had now won 10 seats from Labour since the last general election and called on the Labour Government to "throw in the towel."By-election treble for the Tories https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19690328&printsec=frontpage&hl=en 8 February 2021 The Glasgow Herald 28 March 1969 1 The next day's Glasgow Herald reported that the "dispiriting performance" by Labour in the three by-elections, the first contests of 1969, raised questions as to when the tide would turn for the party and noted that "some Labour MPs feel in their bones" that the party could not recover to win the general election which would come within the next two years. However the same article noted that the much reduced turnout in Walthamstow East (and in the Brighton contest) had distorted the results and could be argued by Labour as evidence that its supporters had stayed at home and were reserving their judgement on the Government. At the 1970 election McNair-Wilson would narrowly hold the seat. References Walthamstow East by-election Walthamstow East,1969 Walthamstow East by-election Walthamstow East,1969 Category:Walthamstow Walthamstow East by-election