1965 Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles by-election

UK by-election April 2025 November 2013 1965 Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles by-election parliamentary United Kingdom Constituency of Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles no 1964 United Kingdom general election 1964 1966 United Kingdom general election 1966 24 March 1965 David Steel x160px Liberal Party (UK) 21,549 49.2% 10.4% Robert McEwen Con Conservative Party (UK) 16,942 38.6% 4.2% Ronald Murray Lab Labour Party (UK) 4,936 11.2% 4.6% MP Subsequent MP Charles Donaldson Conservative Party (UK) David Steel Liberal Party (UK) The 1965 Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles by-election took place following the death of the incumbent member of parliament, Charles Edward McArthur Donaldson. It was won by David Steel, who went on to lead the Liberal Party, making it a milestone in the revival of the party's political fortunes from their nadir in the 1950s. Background Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles, a large rural constituency in the Scottish borders, had been safely Conservative for many years. The Liberal Party's 26-year-old candidate David Steel had dramatically cut Commander Charles Donaldson's majority in the general election of October 1964. When Donaldson died some months later it was clear that the ensuing by-election represented an opportunity for the Liberals to repeat previous by-election triumphs in Torrington and Orpington. However, the Conservatives were now in opposition rather than in government and the party's standing in the constituency was thought to have been further bolstered as their leader, Sir Alec Douglas-Home was himself a Scot, representing the rather similar constituency of Kinross and West Perthshire to the north. Result The election was held on Wednesday 24 March 1965. The result was a major defeat for the Conservatives. The votes cast were as follows: Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles By-Election March 1965http://by-elections.co.uk/65.html https://web.archive.org/web/20131029205408/http://by-elections.co.uk/65.html 1965 By Election Results 29 October 2013 dead 19 August 2015 David Steel Liberal Party (UK) 21,549 49.2 +10.4 Robert L McEwen Conservative Party (UK) 16,942 38.6 -4.2 Ronald K Murray Labour Party (UK) 4,936 11.2 -4.6 Anthony Kerr Independent Scottish Nationalist 411 0.9 -1.6 4,607 10.6 N/A 43,838 81.5 -0.7 Liberal Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) +7.3 Reaction This defeat was seen as a huge setback for the Conservatives, coming on top of their defeat in the general election the previous year and wiping out the boost they had received in the 1965 Leyton by-election. Douglas-Home resigned as leader shortly afterwards, and in the first election for party leader from amongst the Conservative MPs, was replaced by Edward Heath. After his victory, Steel said that Douglas-Home was the only leading figure in the Conservatives who could "take some comfort from the result" as he was the only one not to have come to the constituency to campaign in the by-election. The defeated Conservative candidate McEwen blamed his defeat on Labour voters switching to back the Liberals and predicted that the Liberal victory would be overturned at the next general election. In contrast Liberal MP for Caithness and Sutherland George Mackie described the result as "a triumph for David Steel" which showed that the "Liberal surge in Scotland" was continuing and predicted that the next general election would see the party make further gains in Scotland.Liberals Gain Roxburgh. Tories behind by 4607 votes. Labour, Nationalists deposits lost 12 October 2021 The Glasgow Herald 25 March 1965 https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19650325&printsec=frontpage&hl=en 1 Although the Labour candidate lost his deposit, the governing party enjoyed the Conservatives' discomfort, and the result represented a turning point in the government's political fortunes after a very uncertain opening few months. For the Liberals, the acquisition of a talented young MP was still rare enough to be extremely welcome. Steel soon made a national impression and it was his Private Member's Bill which led to the legalisation of abortion in 1967. He would continue to represent the area at Westminster until 1997. References External links Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles (UK Parliament constituency) British Parliamentary By Elections: Campaign literature from the by-election Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Scottish constituencies Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles by-election Category:1960s elections in Scotland Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles by-election Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles by-election