Lincoln by-election, 1973

The Lincoln by-election of 1 March 1973 saw the re-election of Dick Taverne as Member of Parliament for Lincoln as a Democratic Labour representative, after Taverne's pro-Common Market views saw him repudiated by the Lincoln Constituency Labour Party. It is the most recent example of a sitting Member of Parliament successfully standing for re-election when they change political parties during a Parliament. The byelection led to considerable speculation, stoked by Taverne, about the formation of a new centre party, but Taverne was unable to make his victory last.

Background

Dick Taverne had first been elected in Lincoln at a previous byelection in 1962. His selection then had been controversial as the shortlist had been restricted to three supporters of Hugh Gaitskell in order to stop a left-wing candidate winning; a group of left-wingers led by Leo Beckett had walked out of the selection declaring that the three were "all of a kind".John Ramsden and Richard Jay, "Lincoln: The Background to Taverne's Triumph" in Chris Cook and John Ramsden (eds.), "By-Elections in British Politics" (Macmillan, 1973), p. 272.] The left-wing faction soon gained ground in the local party although no moves were made against Taverne.

When the Labour Party went into opposition after 1970, tension between the Member of Parliament and his local party soon grew up. In January 1971 Taverne threatened to denounce Don Gossop, district secretary of the AUEW engineering trade union, if Gossop called for strike action against the Industrial Relations Bill.John Ramsden and Richard Jay, "Lincoln: The Background to Taverne's Triumph" in Chris Cook and John Ramsden (eds.), "By-Elections in British Politics" (Macmillan, 1973), p. 273.]

European issue

On 5 July a committee of the local party voted to send to the annual Labour Party conference a motion highly critical of the application to join the European Communities which called upon all Labour MPs to oppose.John Ramsden and Richard Jay, "Lincoln: The Background to Taverne's Triumph" in Chris Cook and John Ramsden (eds.), "By-Elections in British Politics" (Macmillan, 1973), p. 274.] At the conference, Leo Beckett called for a "vote of no-confidence against Mr Taverne if he votes in the Tory lobby"; however, less than a month later Taverne broke the Labour Party whip to vote in favour of accepting the terms and joining the European Common Market.John Ramsden and Richard Jay, "Lincoln: The Background to Taverne's Triumph" in Chris Cook and John Ramsden (eds.), "By-Elections in British Politics" (Macmillan, 1973), p. 275.]

Moves to deselect Taverne

Attention was drawn to the escalating row by Granada Television's World in Action which broadcast a programme on 25 October showing Taverne being confronted by his opponents; Leo Beckett and Don Gossop were said to have "emerged with badly scarred reputations".John Ramsden and Richard Jay, "Lincoln: The Background to Taverne's Triumph" in Chris Cook and John Ramsden (eds.), "By-Elections in British Politics" (Macmillan, 1973), p. 275.] However, at a special meeting of the General Management Committee of the local party on 16 November a motion expressing lack of confidence in Taverne was narrowly passed.Arthur Osman, "Confidence vote goes against Mr Taverne", "The Times", 17 November 1971, p. 1.] Taverne was briefly saved on 6 December when the motion (which had to be passed by two successive meetings) saw a tied vote and the party executive's motion to not to take any further action was approved.John Ramsden and Richard Jay, "Lincoln: The Background to Taverne's Triumph" in Chris Cook and John Ramsden (eds.), "By-Elections in British Politics" (Macmillan, 1973), p. 275-276.]

Through 1972 the left gained further ground in the local party and in June they made another move. Taverne organised an opinion poll in the Lincoln constituency which found that 71% said he was right to have voted in accordance with his own views rather than those of his local party, and 79% approved of him as their MP."Poll backs Taverne view", "The Times", 16 June 1972, p. 4.] However, the poll failed to persuade the local party, and at a meeting on 19 June Taverne was "asked to retire" by a vote of 75 to 50.Geoffrey Wansell, "Mr Taverne asked to retire as MP by 75 to 50 vote", "The Times", 20 June 1972, p. 1.] Taverne insisted that he would appeal to the Labour Party's National Executive Committee.

Announcement of resignation

On 6 October Taverne announced his intention to resign his seat and to stand in the resulting byelection as a "Democratic Labour" candidate.Christopher Warman, "Mr Taverne quits to fight alone", "The Times", 7 October 1972, p. 1.] He was immediately backed by a poll commissioned by London Weekend Television which found 49% of Lincoln voters were most likely to vote for him, 16% for the Conservative Party, 14% for the official Labour Party candidate, with 2% for others and 19% undecided."Lincoln poll shows 49 pc support Mr Taverne", "The Times", 9 October 1972, p. 1.]

Taverne's appointment as Steward of the Manor of Northstead did not take effect until 16 October. As he had been a Labour Party MP, the timing of the byelection was up to the Labour Party Chief Whip, Bob Mellish, who declared his preference to wait until the new year. Taverne appealed for a polling day before Christmas."Mr Taverne demands by-election at once", "The Times", 16 October 1972, p. 2.] Liberal Party chief whip David Steel considered intervening to 'move the writ' for the byelection, which provoked Mellish to threaten "open warfare"."'Party war' threat on writ for Lincoln", "The Times", 30 October 1972, p. 2.]

Candidates

After Taverne himself, the first candidate to declare was Reg Simmerson, chairman of "Democratic Conservatives Against the Common Market", who said that as Labour voters would have the choice of pro- and anti-EEC candidates, Conservative voters should have the same choice."Two-way split at Lincoln", "The Times", 10 October 1972, p. 2.]

Lincoln Labour Party shortlisted six candidates as part of the selection of official candidate. They were David Winnick, who had been MP for Croydon South, Gerald McNamara, brother of Hull North MP Kevin McNamara, journalist Max Madden, lecturer Joshua Bamfield, engineer Robert Dixey, and John Dilks who was leader of Derby City Council and a management executive with the Derby Cooperative Society."A6 murder campaigner to challenge Mr Taverne", "The Times", 11 November 1972, p. 2.] The selection eventually went to Dilks."Labour man selected for Lincoln by-election", "The Times", 20 November 1972, p. 5.]

The Conservatives considered three candidates: Desmond Fennell, a Lincoln-born barrister, Robert V. Jackson, a journalist, and merchant banker Hon. Jonathan Guinness who was chairman of the Monday Club on the party's right-wing.John Ramsden and Richard Jay, "Lincoln: The Background to Taverne's Triumph" in Chris Cook and John Ramsden (eds.), "By-Elections in British Politics" (Macmillan, 1973), p. 289.] Guinness eventually won the selection, which helped the party neutralise the effect of Simmerson's candidature but caused difficulties. It was claimed in The Spectator that the local party regarded Guinness as tiresome and put little effort into campaigning, reasoning that a Taverne win would cause problems for the Labour Party, although doubt was cast on whether this was an accurate impression.John Ramsden and Richard Jay, "Lincoln: The Background to Taverne's Triumph" in Chris Cook and John Ramsden (eds.), "By-Elections in British Politics" (Macmillan, 1973), p. 289-90.]

There was a dispute within the Liberal Party over whether to stand. Senior members of the party sympathised with Taverne and wanted the party to withdraw in his favour. Peter Hain, chairman of the Young Liberals, demanded a Liberal candidate stand in opposition to Taverne "who stands on the right of the Labour Party and whose record shows no signs of radicalism"."Lincoln by-election" (letter), "The Times", 14 October 1972, p. 17.] The party eventually decided not to fight, but its success at the Sutton and Cheam byelection in December 1972 led to increased pressure to stand."Anger in Labour ranks at poll results", "The Times", 9 December 1972, p. 1.] Eventually the local party's decision not to fight was endorsed."Liberal move endorsed", "The Times", 14 December 1972, p. 2.]

The candidates list was rounded off with two minor candidates, Jean Justice and Malcolm Waller. Justice, son of a Belgian diplomat and a London property consultant, was chairman of the A6 Murder Committee. The committee's aim was to prove the innocence of James Hanratty who had been hanged in 1962 for the murder of Michael Gregsten. In the mid-1960s, Taverne had served as a Home Office Minister and rejected a plea for a public inquiry into the case. Malcolm Waller formed the "Majority Rule Party" which argued that "the will of the majority of the people shall prevail, even when it conflicts with the will of members of Parliament"."March 1 poll likely in three contests", "The Times", 8 February 1973, p. 2.] A Mr James Blackwell from Cheshire also telephoned the Returning Officer to ask for nomination papers but did not arrive.Christopher Warman, "Lincoln candidates are busy trying to explain to voters who they are", "The Times", 20 February 1973, p. 2.]

Campaign

The writ for the byelection was issued on 9 February, with polling on 1 March; two other writs for byelections in Labour-held constituencies were moved simultaneously."By-elections polling will be on March 1", "The Times", 10 February 1973, p. 4.] The Labour Party pulled in a large number of senior shadow cabinet members to speak in support of John Dilks, described by "The Times" as "probably unequalled in any byelection". Taverne, by contrast, organised only one meeting at which others spoke in his support, to which he invited the Bishop of Southwark Mervyn Stockwood and newspaper columnist Bernard Levin.Christopher Warman, "Mr Taverne remains a dark horse as Labour Party musters its star speakers to challenge him", "The Times", 12 February 1973, p. 3.]

Dilks insisted that he would campaign on issues like inflation, the future of Lincoln, and the EEC, and predicted Taverne would come third.Christopher Warman, "Lincoln candidates start battle with differing assessments of the issues", "The Times", 13 February 1973, p. 4.] Guinness' campaign was marked by his maverick public statements, and he had to be "protected" by planted questions at a public meeting. He came to be treated as a joke figure by the media, being much quoted when he said that convicted murderers should be given razor blades in order that they could "do the decent thing" and save the state the cost of keeping them in jail.John Ramsden and Richard Jay, "Lincoln: The Background to Taverne's Triumph" in Chris Cook and John Ramsden (eds.), "By-Elections in British Politics" (Macmillan, 1973), p. 304-5.]

The campaign saw extensive coverage in the press and on broadcast media. On 22 February the "Daily Telegraph" reported the results of an opinion poll which showed Taverne had a lead of only 2% over the official Labour candidate, well within the margin of error.John Ramsden and Richard Jay, "Lincoln: The Background to Taverne's Triumph" in Chris Cook and John Ramsden (eds.), "By-Elections in British Politics" (Macmillan, 1973), p. 314.] However, two opinion polls published on the day of the byelection found Taverne had a substantial lead. Taverne also benefited from strong support from the "Lincoln Weekend Chronicle", while the "Lincolnshire Echo" reported neutrally and did not make an endorsement.John Ramsden and Richard Jay, "Lincoln: The Background to Taverne's Triumph" in Chris Cook and John Ramsden (eds.), "By-Elections in British Politics" (Macmillan, 1973), p. 308.]

Results

After such a highly publicised campaign, voter turnout was almost up to that in the previous general election. When the result was announced in the early hours of 2 March, it was clear Taverne had been vindicated:

Election box candidate with party link
party = Lincoln Democratic Labour Association
candidate = Dick Taverne
votes = 21,967
percentage = 58.2
change = (+58.2)Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = John Dilks
votes = 8,776
percentage = 23.2
change = -27.7Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Hon. Jonathan Guinness
votes = 6,616
percentage = 17.5
change = -21.5Election box candidate
party = Democratic Conservative
candidate = Reg Simmerson
votes = 198
percentage = 0.5
change = (+0.5)Election box candidate
party = Majority Rule Party
candidate = Malcolm Waller
votes = 100
percentage = 0.3
change = (+0.3)Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent (politician)
candidate = Jean Justice
votes = 81
percentage = 0.2
change = (+0.2)Election box majority
votes = 13,191
percentage = 34.9
change = Election box turnout
votes = 37,738
percentage = 72.6
change = -1.9Election box gain with party link
winner = Lincoln Democratic Labour Association
loser = Labour Party (UK)
swing =

Aftermath

Taverne's majority was generally regarded as a shock, and was said to have shocked Taverne himself.John Ramsden and Richard Jay, "Lincoln: The Background to Taverne's Triumph" in Chris Cook and John Ramsden (eds.), "By-Elections in British Politics" (Macmillan, 1973), p. 309.] In September 1973, he announced the formation of the Campaign for Social Democracy "to play a truly democratic role in changing the course of British politics"."Campaign For Social Democracy" (advertisement), "The Times", 28 September 1973, p. 8.] In the snap general election the following February, the Campaign managed to nominate five candidates, specifically targeting Labour left-wingers; they hoped that the Liberal Party would not stand, but this was in vain and the candidates performed poorly.David Butler and Dennis Kavanagh, "The British General Election of February 1974" (Macmillan, 1974), p. 219.] Taverne himself only narrowly retained Lincoln in a close three-way result, and in the October 1974 election the seat was gained by Margaret Jackson for the Labour Party.

References