1979 Knutsford by-election

UK parliamentary by-election October 2019 The 1979 Knutsford by-election was a by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Knutsford in Cheshire on 1 March 1979. It was won by the Conservative Party candidate Jock Bruce-Gardyne. The by-election took place just over a month before parliament was dissolved (7 April) ahead of the 1979 general election on 3 May. Vacancy The seat had become vacant when the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), John Davies had resigned due to illness on 6 November 1978. He had held the seat since the 1970 general election and had served as Secretary of State for Industry and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the Government of Edward Heath, having previously been Director of the Confederation of British Industry. Candidates The Conservative candidate was 48-year-old Jock Bruce-Gardyne, who had been MP for South Angus from 1964 until his defeat at the October 1974 general election. The Labour Party candidate was Alan Barton, and the Liberals fielded Robert Ingham. Michael Byrne stood as an Independent Conservative. Result The result was a clear victory for Bruce-Gardyne in this Conservative safe seat, with a much increased majority of 16,880. Both the Labour and Liberal vote fell by a few per cent. Bruce-Gardyne held the seat until its abolition for the 1983 general election, when he was effectively forced out of the Commons due to a reduction of the number of Cheshire seats. He was elevated to the House of Lords in the same year. Knutsford by-election, 1979http://by-elections.co.uk/79.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120314034509/http://by-elections.co.uk/79.html 1979 By Election Results 2012-03-14 dead 2015-09-17 Conservative Party (UK) Jock Bruce-Gardyne 22,086 67.1 +16.1 Liberal Party (UK) Robert Ingham 5,206 15.8 −10.6 Labour Party (UK) Alan Barton 5,124 15.6 −7.0 Independent Conservative Michael Byrne 486 1.5 New 16,880 51.3 +26.7 32,902 Conservative Party (UK) +13.4 Previous election General election October 1974: Knutsford Conservative Party (UK) John Davies 21,636 51.0 -1.5 Liberal Party (UK) B. Lomax 11,210 26.4 -1.4 Labour Party (UK) D.L. Swain 9.565 22.6 +2.9 10,426 24.6 -0.1 42,411 76.8 Conservative Party (UK) See also Knutsford constituency List of United Kingdom by-elections References Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Cheshire constituencies Knutsford by-election Knutsford by-election Knutsford by-election Category:20th century in Cheshire Category:Knutsford