1964 Winchester by-election

UK Parliamentary by-election August 2019 August 2019 The 1964 Winchester by-election was held on 14 May 1964. It was held after the incumbent Conservative MP Peter Smithers was appointed as the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe. It was retained for the Conservative Party by their candidate Morgan Morgan-Giles. Background The by-election was one of four (the others being Bury St Edmunds, Devizes and Rutherglen being held on the same day in which the seat was being defended by a candidate supporting the incumbent Conservative government. With a general election due later in the year, the results were anticipated with interest as pointer to what might happen at the election.Testing the Electorate. Hopes and Fears in Four Constituencies https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19640514&printsec=frontpage&hl=en 29 July 2018 The Glasgow Herald 14 May 1964 According to The Glasgow Herald, unlike the other three seats, Winchester was expected to be an easy win for the Conservatives, although it was expected that the Conservative majority would be cut. Result Winchester by-election, 1964http://geocities.com/by_elections/64.html https://web.archive.org/web/20090831055341/http://geocities.com/by_elections/64.html 1964 By Election Results 2009-08-31 dead 2015-09-19 Conservative Party (UK) Morgan Morgan-Giles 18,032 52.17 -15.09 Labour Party (UK) C. Patrick Seyd 11,968 34.62 +1.88 Liberal Party (UK) J. Edwards 4,567 13.21 New 6,064 17.55 -26.98 34,567 Conservative Party (UK) Aftermath While the Conservatives held Winchester, it was reported that if the swing of 8.5% from Conservative to Labour were repeated at the general election it would give the latter a majority of over 170 seats. However, the result at Devizes showed a much lower swing to Labour.Socialists' Smell of Election Victory https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19640515&printsec=frontpage&hl=en 29 July 2018 The Glasgow Herald 15 May 1964 The Conservatives lost Rutherglen, but held Bury St Edmund's, the last of the seats to declare, with what was reported by The Glasgow Herald to be a smaller swing against them than expected. The same newspaper noted that while the four results gave a mixed picture, with Winchester seeing the biggest swing against the Conservatives, overall they cast doubt on opinion polls suggesting a significant national Labour lead and perhaps would give Harold Wilson "the first faint incredulous thoughts" that he might not prevail at the coming general election.Government Retain Bury St Edmunds. Happier Days Again for Tory Workers https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19640516&printsec=frontpage&hl=en 16 October 2021 The Glasgow Herald 16 May 1964 7 References Winchester by-election Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Hampshire constituencies Winchester by-election Category:Politics of Winchester Category:20th century in Hampshire Winchester by-election