1976 Walsall North by-election

UK parliamentary by-election November 2019 1976 Walsall North by-election parliamentary United Kingdom Constituency of Walsall North no October 1974 United Kingdom general election Oct. 1974 1979 United Kingdom general election 1979 4 November 1976 Robin Hodgson x160px Conservative Party (UK) 16,212 43.35% 17.2% David Winnick Lab Labour Party (UK) 11,833 31.64% 27.85% Sidney Wright Ind. Independent (politician) 4,374 11.70% black N/A Joseph Parker NF National Front (UK) 2,724 7.28% black N/A MP John Stonehouse English National Party Robin Hodgson Conservative Party (UK) The 1976 Walsall North by-election on 4 November 1976 was held after the resignation of sitting Member of Parliament (MP) John Stonehouse. Elected as a Labour candidate, Stonehouse was a member of the English National Party when he resigned, after an interlude in which he faked his own death.1976: Government crisis as Stonehouse quits The English National Party did not contest the by-election, the first occasion on which the incumbent's party did not do so since the 1963 Bristol South East by-election, and the last until the 1995 North Down by-election. Amidst the confusion, the Conservative Party gained the seat in the by-election. The by-election was also noted for the performance of independent candidate Sidney Wright, the debut of the Ecology PartyGreen Party history, Derek Wall and the split of the far right vote due to the appearance of both the National Front and their splinter group the National Party on the ballots.M. Walker, The National Front, Glasgow: Fontana Collins, 1977 The Liberal Party could take only fifth place, their worst ever placing in a by-election in England. The party had previously come fifth in Wales in the 1972 Merthyr Tydfil by-election, and next placed so low at the 1989 Glasgow Central by-election. The by-election also saw a record number of candidates, beating the long-standing record of seven who contested the 1920 Stockport by-election, where two seats were available, a total first reached in a single-member by-election in the 1962 Dorset South by-election. This record was again beaten at the 1977 City of London and Westminster South by-election. Joseph Parker, the National Front candidate, would go on to be father-in-law to John Tyndall, the leader of the National Front, after Tyndall married Parker's daughter Valerie in 1977. Result Walsall North by-Election, 1976http://by-elections.co.uk/76.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120314034528/http://by-elections.co.uk/76.html 1976 By Election Results 2012-03-14 dead 2015-09-17 Conservative Party (UK) Robin Hodgson 16,212 43.35 +17.2 Labour Party (UK) David Winnick 11,833 31.64 -27.85 Independent Sidney Wright 4,374 11.70 New National Front (UK) Joseph Parker 2,724 7.28 New Liberal Party (UK) Frances Oborski 1,212 3.24 -13.1 Socialist Workers Party (UK) James McCallum 574 1.53 New National Party (UK, 1976) Marian Powell 258 0.69 New Ecology Party Jonathan Tyler 181 0.48 New Air, Road, Public Safety, White Resident Bill Boaks 30 0.08 New 4,379 11.71 N/A 37,398 Conservative Party (UK) English National Party +22.5 See also United Kingdom by-election records References Category:1976 elections in the United Kingdom Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in West Midlands (county) constituencies Category:Politics of Walsall Category:1976 in England Category:1970s in the West Midlands (county) Category:November 1976 in the United Kingdom