1961 Colchester by-election

1961 UK Parliamentary by-election November 2019 The 1961 Colchester by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Colchester on 16 March 1961. Vacancy It was held due to the incumbent Conservative MP, Cuthbert Alport becoming British High Commissioner to Rhodesia and so getting a Life Peerage on appointment. He had been MP here since gaining the seat in 1950. Election history Colchester had been won by the Conservatives at every election since 1950 when they gained the seat from Labour. The result at the last General election was as follows; 1959 general election: Colchester British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973, FWS Craig Conservative Party (UK) Cuthbert Alport 24,592 51.63 Labour Party (UK) Joan I. Edmonson 17,096 35.89 Liberal Party (UK) Peter M Linfoot 5,942 12.48 7,496 15.74 47,630 82.44 Conservative Party (UK) Candidates The Conservatives selected Antony Buck. The Liberals selected airline pilot Howard Levett Fry. He was born in December 1912 and was educated at Paxton Park School and St. Paul's School, London. He joined the R.A.F. in 1932 and transferred to Imperial Airways in 1937. He flew transport aircraft during the war. After the war he was a Senior Captain first class with B.O.A.C. He was a founder member of the British Air Line Pilots' Association. He was Vice-Chairman of the Britannia Pilots' Council. He was a member of the Liberal Party Executive and the Party Council. Fry contested Aylesbury in 1959 and 1955 and New Forest in 1950.The Times House of Commons, 1950-1964 Labour re-selected John Wilson Fear. Result The Conservative Party held the seat with a slightly reduced majority. 1961 Colchester by-electionBritish Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973, FWS Craighttp://www.by-elections.co.uk/61.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120325095631/http://www.by-elections.co.uk/61.html 1961 By Election Results 2012-03-25 dead 2015-08-15 Conservative Party (UK) Antony Buck 17,891 47.17 -4.46 Labour Party (UK) John Wilson Fear 12,547 33.08 -2.81 Liberal Party (UK) Howard Levett Fry 7,487 19.74 +7.26 5,344 14.09 -1.65 37,925 64.90 -13.54 Conservative Party (UK) -0.8 Aftermath The result at the 1964 general election; General election 1964: ColchesterBritish Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973, FWS Craig Conservative Party (UK) Antony Buck 23,319 46.0 -1.2 Labour Party (UK) Charles Williams 19,780 39.0 +5.9 Liberal Party (UK) Eric W Rodnight 7,566 14.9 -4.7 3,539 7.0 -7.1 50,665 82.1 +17.2 Conservative Party (UK) -3.5 References Colchester by-election Category:History of Colchester Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Essex constituencies Category:Politics of Colchester Colchester by-election Colchester by-election Category:1960s in Essex