1978 Pontefract and Castleford by-election

UK parliamentary by-election November 2019 A 1978 by-election was held for the House of Commons parliamentary constituency of Pontefract and Castleford on 26 October 1978 following the death of Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Joseph Harper on 24 June. It was one of two UK parliamentary by-elections held on that day. The result was a Labour hold. The party's majority was reduced from the 54.2% at the October 1974 general election to a still comfortable 38.5%. Both Labour and Liberal Party candidates saw their votes fall, the latter's share of the vote being nearly halved. The winner, Geoffrey Lofthouse, served as the constituency's MP until his retirement at the 1997 general election. Result Pontefract and Castleford by-election, 1978http://by-elections.co.uk/78.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120314034520/http://by-elections.co.uk/78.html 1978 By Election Results 2012-03-14 dead 2015-09-17 Labour Party (UK) Geoffrey Lofthouse 19,508 65.8 -4.6 Conservative Party (UK) Hugo Page 8,080 27.3 +11.1 Liberal Party (UK) Leslie Marsh 2,054 6.9 -5.4 11,428 38.5 -15.7 29,642 Labour Party (UK) -7.9 References See also Pontefract and Castleford (UK Parliament constituency) List of United Kingdom by-elections (1950–1979) 1978 Berwick and East Lothian by-election Category:1978 elections in the United Kingdom Category:1978 in England Category:Pontefract Category:Elections in Wakefield Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in West Yorkshire constituencies Category:1970s in West Yorkshire Category:October 1978 in the United Kingdom