1957 Lewisham North by-election

UK parliamentary by-election April 2022 The 1957 Lewisham North by-election of 14 February 1957 was held following the death of Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Sir Austin Hudson, 1st Baronet the previous year. In a defeat for the Conservative government, the seat was gained by the Labour Party. Candidates The Conservative Party chose Norman Farmer as their candidate for the seat, which had been held by the party since its creation in 1950. The Labour Party candidate was Niall MacDermot, the son of an Irish barrister. Himself a successful lawyer, he had only joined the party the previous year after fearing that his involvement in an earlier manslaughter case would preclude any political ambitions. MacDermot's mentor within the party, Elwyn Jones, persuaded him to run for election.Naill MacDermott obituary Leslie Greene ran as an "independent loyalist" candidate.RENTS ROW SWINGS THE VOTE video newsreel film Although an independent she was actively supported by the right-wing pressure group the League of Empire Loyalists.David Boothroyd, The Politico's Guide to the History of British Political Parties, London: Politico's, 2001, p. 143 Greene, the group's organising secretary, had gained notoriety the previous year when she interrupted a speech by Anthony Eden, typical of the sort of headline-grabbing stunt favoured by the group at the time.Martin Durham, Women and Fascism, Routledge, 1998, p. 101 Result of the previous general election Results from the previous general election were:http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge55/i13.htm UK General Election results May 1955 2011-05-06 https://web.archive.org/web/20110811165416/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge55/i13.htm 2011-08-11 dead General election 1955: Lewisham North Conservative Party (UK) Austin Hudson 22,070 53.96 +0.50 Labour Party (UK) ST Williams 18,834 46.04 -0.50 3,236 7.92 +1.00 40,904 77.93 -6.09 Conservative Party (UK) Result of the by-election The results of the by-election were as follows: United Kingdom Parliament: Lewisham North by-election 1957http://by-elections.co.uk/57.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120329041134/http://by-elections.co.uk/57.html 1957 By Election Results 2012-03-29 dead 2015-08-14 Labour Party (UK) Niall MacDermot 18,516 49.50 +3.46 Conservative Party (UK) Norman Farmer 17,406 46.53 -7.43 Independent loyalist Leslie Greene 1,487 3.97 New 1,110 2.97 N/A 37,409 Labour Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) +5.44 References Lewisham North,1957 Lewisham North by-election Lewisham North by-election Lewisham North,1957