1956 Newport by-election

UK parliamentary by-election December 2020 November 2013 The 1956 Newport by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 6 July 1956 for the British House of Commons constituency of Newport in Monmouthshire. The seat had become vacant when the constituency's Labour Member of Parliament (MP), Peter Freeman had died on 19 May 1956, aged 67. He had held the seat since the 1945 general election, having previously been MP for Brecon and Radnorshire from 1929 to 1931. Candidates The Labour candidate was Sir Frank Soskice, who had been Solicitor General and then Attorney General in the Labour Government 1945-1951. His Sheffield Neepsend constituency had been abolished for the 1955 general election. The Conservative Party selected as its candidate Donald Box, a stockbroker from Cardiff who had contested the seat at the 1955 general election. The Liberal Party did not field a candidate, and third candidate was Emrys Roberts of Plaid Cymru. Result Soskice held the seat with a majority higher than that achieved by Freeman the previous year. He held the seat until he retired from the House of Commons at the 1966 general election, having been Home Secretary from 1964 to 1965. Box was elected at the 1959 general election in Cardiff North, and held that seat until 1966. 1956 Newport by-electionhttp://by-elections.co.uk/56.html https://web.archive.org/web/20121010071845/http://by-elections.co.uk/56.html 1956 By Election Results 2012-10-10 dead 2015-08-14Craig, F. W. S. (1971). British parliamentary election results 1950-1970 (1 ed.). Chichester: Political Reference Publications. 9780900178023. Page 558 Welsh Labour Frank Soskice 29,205 56.3 +2.6 Welsh Conservatives Donald Box 20,720 39.9 -5.4 Plaid Cymru Emrys Roberts 1,978 3.8 N/A 8,485 16.3 +8.9 51,903 72.1 -9.5 71,943 Welsh Labour +4.0 See also Newport constituency 1922 Newport by-election 1945 Newport by-election Newport Lists of United Kingdom by-elections United Kingdom by-election records References "The Times House of Commons Supplement" Issued June 1957. British parliamentary by-elections: 1956 February 2012 Newport by-election Newport by-election Newport by-election, 1956 Newport by-election Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Welsh constituencies Category:History of Newport, Wales Category:Politics of Newport, Wales Category:20th century in Monmouthshire Category:Elections in Monmouthshire