Ripon by-election, 1973

Ripon by-election, 1973

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

The by-election took place during the 1970s Liberal revival. This seat and Isle of Ely 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), Sir Malcolm Stoddart-Scott (23 September 1901 – 15 June 1973), died. Stoddart-Scott, a Conservative, had been MP for Pudsey and Otley from 1945 - 1950 and had represented Ripon from 1950.

Candidates

Four 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 David Austick. He was a bookseller and a West Yorkshire County Councillor. Austick was born on 8 March 1920 and died on 9 February 1997.

Austick won the by-election, in a seat in which his party had finished third in the 1970 general election. He lost the constituency to the Conservatives in the February 1974 general election. Austick subsequently contested Ripon in October 1974 and Cheadle in 1979. He also contested the Leeds constituency for the European Parliament, in the election of 1979.

2. The Conservative candidate was Keith Hampson, born on 14 August 1943. He was a former assistant to the Conservative Prime Minister, Edward Heath and a university lecturer.

After losing the by-election, Hampson was the successful Conservative candidate who re-gained the seat in February 1974. The Ripon constituency was abolished for the 1983 general election, and Hampson was then elected for Leeds North West. At the 1997 general election he was defeated by Labour candidate Harold Best.

3. Representing the Labour Party was D.M. English, who also contested the seat in February 1974.

4. R.E.G. Simmerson, the Chairman of a body called "Democratic Conservatives Against the Common Market", contested the by-election. Craig classified him as an Independent Conservative candidate.

Votes

Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Party (UK)
candidate = David Austick
votes = 13,902
percentage = 43.5
change = +30.4
Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Keith Hampson
votes = 12,956
percentage = 40.5
change = -20.2
Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = D.M. English
votes = 4,435
percentage = 13.9
change = -12.3
Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent Conservative
candidate = R.E.G. Simmerson
votes = 690
percentage = 2.1
change = "N/A"
Election box majority
votes = 946
percentage = 3.0
change = "N/A"
Election box turnout
votes =
percentage = 64.3
change = -9.4
Election box Registered electors
reg. electors = 49,761
Election box gain with party link
winner = Liberal Party (UK)
loser = Conservative Party (UK)
swing =

ee also

* Ripon 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)


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ripon (UK Parliament constituency) — Ripon was a constituency sending members to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1983, centred on the town of Ripon in North Yorkshire.HistoryRipon was first represented in the Model Parliament of 1295, and also… …   Wikipedia

  • Chester-le-Street by-election, 1973 — The Chester le Street by election, 1973 was a parliamentary by election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Chester le Street on 1 March 1973. Contents 1 Vacancy 2 Candidates 3 Previous general election …   Wikipedia

  • 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… …   Wikipedia

  • Dundee East by-election, 1973 — There was a by election for Dundee East, in Scotland, on March 1st, 1973. It was one of three UK parliamentary by elections held on that day. It was caused by the appointment of George Thomson as a European commissioner. George Machin retained… …   Wikipedia

  • Manchester Exchange by-election, 1973 — The Manchester Exchange by election of 13 June 1973 was held after the death of William Griffiths on 14 April of the same year. The Labour Party won the by election in what had traditionally been a safe seat. Due to an administrative oversight,… …   Wikipedia

  • United Kingdom by-election records — UK by election records is an annotated list of notable records from United Kingdom by elections. A by election occurs when a Member of Parliament resigns, dies, or is disqualified or expelled, and an election is held to fill the vacant seat. A… …   Wikipedia

  • North Cornwall by-election, 1939 — The North Cornwall by election, 1939 was a parliamentary by election held on 13 July 1939 for the British House of Commons constituency of North Cornwall. The by election took place shortly before the start of the Second World War. It was the… …   Wikipedia

  • Merthyr Tydfil by-election, 1972 — The Merthyr Tydfil by election of 13 April 1972 was held after the death of S. O. Davies on 25 February the same year. The Labour Party won the by election in what had traditionally been a safe seat, although Davies had been elected in the 1970… …   Wikipedia

  • Hebden, North Yorkshire — infobox UK place country = England official name = Hebden latitude = 54.064 longitude = 1.962 static static image caption = Hebden Post Office population = 216 area total km2 = 14.50 population density =Pop density km2 to mi2|(14.9)… …   Wikipedia

  • India — /in dee euh/, n. 1. Hindi, Bharat. a republic in S Asia: a union comprising 25 states and 7 union territories; formerly a British colony; gained independence Aug. 15, 1947; became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations Jan. 26, 1950.… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”