1973 West Bromwich by-election

UK parliamentary by-election July 2012 December 2020 1973 West Bromwich by-election parliamentary United Kingdom Constituency of West Bromwich no 1970 United Kingdom general election 1970 24 May 1973 Betty Boothroyd x160px Labour Party (UK) 15,907 53.21% 2.02% David Bell Con Conservative Party (UK) 7,582 25.36% 19.41% Martin Webster NF National Front (UK) 4,789 16.02% black N/A Joshua Churchman Ind. Independent politician 1,616 5.41% black N/A MP Subsequent MP Maurice Foley Labour Party (UK) Betty Boothroyd Labour Party (UK) The 1973 West Bromwich by-election of 24 May 1973 was held following the appointment of Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Maurice Foley to the European Commission. The constituency, held continuously by Labour since 1935, was retained in this by-election. Campaign The election campaign was noted for the refusal of Enoch Powell, MP for neighbouring Wolverhampton South West, to endorse Conservative candidate David Bell; he felt that Bell was too far removed from his own policies on immigration and United Kingdom membership of the European Communities.Simon Heffer, Like the Roman: The Life of Enoch Powell, London, 1998. 0-297-84286-2, pp. 667–668 Although Powell did not endorse any candidate, the National Front (NF) claimed that Powell's refusal to support Bell represented tacit endorsement of itself. On polling day Martin Webster captured 16% of the vote, an all-time high for the NF, which thereby saved its deposit. In common with a number of by-elections at the time, the Liberal Party did not compete for this seat. Result West Bromwich by-election, 1973http://by-elections.co.uk/73.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120314034602/http://by-elections.co.uk/73.html 1973 By Election Results 2012-03-14 dead 2015-09-17 Labour Party (UK) Betty Boothroyd 15,907 53.21 -2.02 Conservative Party (UK) David Bell 7,582 25.36 -19.41 National Front (UK) Martin Webster 4,789 16.02 New Independent Joshua Churchman 1,616 5.41 New 8,325 27.85 29,894 43.6 Labour Party (UK) See also West Bromwich (UK Parliament constituency) 1941 West Bromwich by-election 1963 West Bromwich by-election The town of West Bromwich Lists of United Kingdom by-elections References Category:Politics of Sandwell Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in West Midlands (county) constituencies Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Staffordshire constituencies West Bromwich by-election West Bromwich by-election West Bromwich by-election Category:20th century in Staffordshire