Isle of Ely by-election, 1973

The Isle of Ely by-election, 1973 was a parliamentary by-election held on 26 July 1973 for the British House of Commons constituency of Isle of Ely.

The by-election took place during the 1970s Liberal revival. This seat and Ripon were gained on the same day, the third and fourth Liberal gains during the Parliament. This was the first time the Liberal Party had made two by-election gains on the same day, since winning both seats in a two member constituency at the Oldham by-election, 1899. The Party had last gained two seats, in different constituencies on the same day, at the Frome by-election, 1896 and the Wick Burghs by-election, 1896 held on 2 June 1896.

Previous MP

The seat had become vacant when the constituency's Member of Parliament (MP) since 1945, Major Sir Edward Alexander Henry Legge-Bourke KBE (16 May 1914 – 21 May 1973), died. Legge-Bourke, a Conservative, had gained the seat from the Liberal Party in the 1945 general election.

Candidates

Three candidates were nominated. The list below is set out in descending order of the number of votes received at the by-election.

1. The Liberal Party candidate was Clement Raphael Freud. He is the grandson of Sigmund Freud and is well known as a writer and broadcaster. Freud was born on 24 April 1924.

Freud won the by-election, in a seat which his party had not contested in the 1970 general election. He retained the constituency until it was renamed in 1983, with most of the territory incorporated into the constituency of North East Cambridgeshire. Freud retained that seat until he was defeated in the United Kingdom general election, 1987.

2. The Conservative candidate was J.B. Stevens. He contested Birmingham Stechford in the United Kingdom general election, 1970. Stevens again lost to Clement Freud, in this constituency, at the February 1974 general election.

3. Representing the Labour Party was B.A. Young.

Votes

Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Party (UK)
candidate = "'Clement Freud
votes = 17,390
percentage = 38.3
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = J.B. Stevens
votes = 15,920
percentage = 35.0
change = -24.9Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = B.A. Young
votes = 12,153
percentage = 26.7
change = -13.4Election box majority
votes = 1,470
percentage = 3.3
change = "N/A"Election box turnout
votes = 45,463
percentage = 65.8
change = -6.1Election box Registered electors
reg. electors = 69,069Election box gain with party link
winner = Liberal Party (UK)
loser = Conservative Party (UK)
swing =

ee also

* Isle of Ely constituency
* List of United Kingdom by-elections
* United Kingdom by-election records

References

* "British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973", compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Research Services 1983)
* "Chronology of British Parliamentary By-Elections 1833-1987", compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Research Services 1987)
* "Twentieth-Century British Political Facts 1900-2000", by David Butler and Gareth Butler (Eighth edition: Macmillan Press 2000)
* "Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume IV 1945-1979", edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1981)