1962 South Dorset by-election

UK parliamentary by-election April 2022 The 1962 South Dorset by-election occurred following the death of George Montagu, 9th Earl of Sandwich on 15 June 1962. His son Viscount Hinchingbrooke, the incumbent MP for the constituency of South Dorset, was subsequently elevated to the peerage, becoming the 10th Earl of Sandwich. Following the Peerage Act 1963, the 10th Earl disclaimed his peerages in 1964, becoming Victor Montagu, but never sat in the House of Commons again. Candidates The campaign coincided with a period when the United Kingdom was negotiating to join the European Communities ("Common Market"). The application was later vetoed by Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Viscount Hinchingbrooke was staunchly against joining the Common Market, while the Conservative candidate, Angus Maude, had to back the official party pro-Common Market policy. The issue resulted in a local Conservative, Sir Piers Debenham, standing as an anti-Common Market candidate with the support of Viscount Hinchingbrooke. Burn, Fudge and O'Connor were all serving in the Armed Forces, and stood to avail of the automatic military discharge for Parliamentary candidates publicised by Malcolm Thompson at the Middlesbrough West by-election the previous July.Leonard Dick Mortimore Roger Elections in Britain: A Voter's Guide 2001 Palgrave New York 978-0-333-91799-2 86–87 4th https://archive.org/details/electionsinbrita0000leon/page/86/mode/2up registration Open Library https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1962/dec/18/parliamentary-elections-service 18 December 1962 Commons 669 1086 1089 Parliamentary Elections (Service Candidates) F. W. S. Craig F. W. S. Craig Minor Parties at British Parliamentary Elections 129 London Macmillan 333 17152 7 https://archive.org/details/minorpartiesatbr0000crai/page/129 Feron James 175 'candidates' Avoid Yorkshire; Servicemen Having Second Thoughts on Election; Servicemen Screened; 2 Other Elections Slated https://www.nytimes.com/1963/03/11/archives/175-candidates-avoid-yorkshire-servicemen-having-second-thoughts-on.html 11 December 2025 The New York Times 11 March 1963 3 en A total of seven candidates stood for election; this matched the then by-election record, which had been set at the 1920 Stockport by-election, and was not beaten until the 1976 Walsall North by-election. Result The by-election took place on 22 November 1962, and resulted in a gain for the Labour Party from the Conservatives. Guy Barnett was elected with a majority of 704, overturning a 6,693 Conservative majority at the 1959 general election, and with 33.5% of the poll, one of the lowest winning vote-shares at a by-election vote. The 5,000 votes for Piers Debenham proved decisive, although the increase in the Liberal Party vote was also important. Debenham lost his deposit, gaining 12.3% of the votes against the 12.5% required. Angus Maude was subsequently elected to Parliament in the Stratford by-election in 1963, after the resignation of John Profumo following the Profumo affair. At the 1964 general election Guy Barnett was defeated by the Conservative candidate Evelyn King by 935 votes. He returned to parliament in 1971, for Greenwich, following a by-election there. Piers Debenham died in 1964, just before the 1964 general election. South Dorset by-election, 22 November 1962http://by-elections.co.uk/62.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120205100601/http://by-elections.co.uk/62.html 1962 By Election Results 2012-02-05 dead 2015-08-17 Labour Party (UK) Guy Barnett 13,783 33.51 -1.16 Conservative Party (UK) Angus Maude 13,079 31.79 -17.99 Liberal Party (UK) Lawrence Norbury-Williams 8,910 21.66 +6.11 Anti Common Market Piers Debenham 5,057 12.29 New Independent politician Paul Burn 181 0.44 New Independent politician Michael Fudge 82 0.20 New Independent politician Jeremiah O'Connor 45 0.11 New 704 1.71 N/A 41,137 Labour Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) References External links Dorset’s first Labour MP Category:1962 in England Category:1962 elections in the United Kingdom Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Dorset constituencies Category:20th century in Dorset