1956 Blaydon by-election

UK parliamentary by-election November 2019 The 1956 Blaydon by-election of 2 February 1956 was a by-election held in the British House of Commons constituency of Blaydon in County Durham, the North East of England. It was caused by the death on 3 November 1955 of William Whiteley, the sitting Labour Party Member of Parliament for the constituency, who had first been elected in 1922 and had represented it ever since with the exception of 1931 to 1935. Labour Party candidate Robert Woof held the seat with little change in the majority. Candidates Labour selected Robert Woof, who was a miner and official with the National Union of Mineworkers; Woof, who was 44, had been a member of Durham County Council since 1947. The Conservative Party candidate was John Reay-Smith, a 40-year-old solicitor who had been a member of Bishop Auckland Urban District Council and fought the constituency in the 1955 general election. Result Robert Woof won with a majority of 10,714, and went on to hold it for the next 23 years before retiring at the 1979 general election. Blaydon by-election, 1956http://by-elections.co.uk/56.html https://web.archive.org/web/20121010071845/http://by-elections.co.uk/56.html 1956 By Election Results 2012-10-10 dead 2015-08-14 Labour Party (UK) Robert Woof 18,791 69.94 +3.47 Conservative Party (UK) John Reay-Smith 8,077 30.06 -3.47 10,714 39.88 +6.94 26,868 Labour Party (UK) -3.4 See also Blaydon (UK Parliament constituency) List of United Kingdom by-elections (1950-1979) References The Times House of Commons Supplement issued June 1957. Category:1956 elections in the United Kingdom Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in County Durham constituencies Category:1956 in England Category:February 1956 in the United Kingdom Category:Politics of Gateshead Category:Elections in Tyne and Wear Category:20th century in County Durham