Knutsford by-election, 1979
Encyclopedia
The Knutsford by-election, 1979 was a by-election
held for the British House of Commons
constituency
of Knutsford
in Cheshire
on 1 March 1979. It was won by the Conservative Party
candidate Jock Bruce-Gardyne
.
Member of Parliament
(MP), John Davies
had resigned due to illness on 6 November 1978. He had held the seat since the 1970 general election
and had served as Secretary of State for Industry and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
in the Government of Edward Heath
, having previously been Director of the Confederation of British Industry
.
, who had been MP for South Angus
from 1964
until his defeat at the October 1974 general election
. The Labour Party
candidate was Alan Barton, and the Liberal
s fielded Robert Ingham. Michael Byrne stood as an Independent Conservative
.
, with a much increased majority of 16,880. Both the Labour and Liberal vote fell by a few per cent.
Bruce-Gardyne held the seat until its abolition for the 1983 general election
, when he was effectively forced out of the Commons due to a reduction of the number of Cheshire seats. He was elevated to the House of Lords
in the same year.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held for the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
constituency
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
of Knutsford
Knutsford (UK Parliament constituency)
Knutsford was a county constituency in Cheshire which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election.- Members of Parliament :...
in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
on 1 March 1979. It was won by the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate Jock Bruce-Gardyne
Jock Bruce-Gardyne
John Bruce-Gardyne, Baron Bruce-Gardyne was a British Conservative Party politician.Son of Captain Evan Bruce-Gardyne, DSO, RN 13th Laird of Middleton, and a member of a Scottish landholding family who have been based in the county of Angus since at least 1008 AD. He was born in Chertsey, Surrey...
.
Vacancy
The seat had become vacant when the ConservativeConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP), John Davies
John Davies
-Politicians:*John Davies , British businessman and Conservative MP and cabinet minister*John S. Davies , Pennsylvania politician...
had resigned due to illness on 6 November 1978. He had held the seat since the 1970 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1970
The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...
and had served as Secretary of State for Industry and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom that includes as part of its duties, the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster...
in the Government of Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
, having previously been Director of the Confederation of British Industry
Confederation of British Industry
The Confederation of British Industry is a British not for profit organisation incorporated by Royal charter which promotes the interests of its members, some 200,000 British businesses, a figure which includes some 80% of FTSE 100 companies and around 50% of FTSE 350 companies.-Role:The CBI works...
.
Candidates
The Conservative candidate was 48-year-old Jock Bruce-GardyneJock Bruce-Gardyne
John Bruce-Gardyne, Baron Bruce-Gardyne was a British Conservative Party politician.Son of Captain Evan Bruce-Gardyne, DSO, RN 13th Laird of Middleton, and a member of a Scottish landholding family who have been based in the county of Angus since at least 1008 AD. He was born in Chertsey, Surrey...
, who had been MP for South Angus
South Angus (UK Parliament constituency)
Angus South was a county constituency in Scotland, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 to 1983.- Members of Parliament :- Election results:...
from 1964
United Kingdom general election, 1964
The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...
until his defeat at the October 1974 general election
United Kingdom general election, October 1974
The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of...
. The Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
candidate was Alan Barton, and the Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
s fielded Robert Ingham. Michael Byrne stood as an Independent Conservative
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
.
Result
The result was a clear victory for Bruce-Gardyne in this Conservative safe seatSafe seat
A safe seat is a seat in a legislative body which is regarded as fully secured, either by a certain political party, the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both...
, with a much increased majority of 16,880. Both the Labour and Liberal vote fell by a few per cent.
Bruce-Gardyne held the seat until its abolition for the 1983 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
, when he was effectively forced out of the Commons due to a reduction of the number of Cheshire seats. He was elevated to the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
in the same year.
Votes
See also
- Knutsford constituencyKnutsford (UK Parliament constituency)Knutsford was a county constituency in Cheshire which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election.- Members of Parliament :...
- List of United Kingdom by-elections