The Lambeth Central by-election was held on 20 April 1978, following the death of 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...

 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,...

 for Lambeth Central

Lambeth Central (UK Parliament constituency)

Lambeth Central was a parliamentary constituency in the London Borough of Lambeth, in South London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system....

 Marcus Lipton

Marcus Lipton

Marcus Lipton OBE was a British Labour Party politician.Lipton was educated at Bede Grammar School, Sunderland, and Merton College, Oxford with a scholarship. He studied law and was called to the Bar in 1926...

.

While the seat had seen significant Labour majorities at the February

United Kingdom general election, February 1974

The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...

 and October 1974 UK 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...

s, and Lambeth in general was regarded as a safe Labour area, the party was struggling in the polls. They selected John Tilley

John Tilley

John Vincent Tilley was a British Labour Party politician.Tilley was born and raised in Derby. He was educated at a grammar school and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he read history...

, the leader of Wandsworth Borough Council who had unsuccessfully contested Kensington

Kensington (UK Parliament constituency)

Kensington is a parliamentary constituency in the Parliament of the United Kingdom in west London, comprising the northern and central parts of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around Kensington...

 in the 1974 elections.

Labour's weak position gave 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...

 hope that it might gain the seat in a surprise victory. They stood Jeremy Hanley

Jeremy Hanley

Sir Jeremy James Hanley, KCMG , is a politician and chartered accountant from the United Kingdom. He served as the Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1994-95, and as a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Richmond and Barnes from 1983-97.Hanley was educated at Rugby School,...

, a chartered accountant educated at Rugby School

Rugby School

Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...

. The Liberal Party

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...

 had little base in the area, but decided to contest the seat regardless.

Several minor parties hoped to do well in the by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

. The far right National Front had polled well in recent elections in London and maintained a high profile during the election campaign. Meanwhile, several far left groups organised in the area stood in the hope of combating the National Front and raising their own profiles. Actor Corin Redgrave

Corin Redgrave

Corin William Redgrave was an English actor and political activist.-Early life:Redgrave was born in Marylebone, London, the only son and middle child of actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson...

 stood for the Workers Revolutionary Party, while the Socialist Unity coalition and Socialist Party of Great Britain

Socialist Party of Great Britain

The Socialist Party of Great Britain , is a small Marxist political party within the impossibilist tradition. It is best known for its advocacy of using the ballot box for revolutionary purposes; opposition to reformism; and its early adoption of the theory of state capitalism to describe the...

 also stood, while the Socialist Workers Party stood in the name of their publication Flame - Black Workers Paper For Self Defence.

In total, eleven candidates stood, setting a new record for a by-election in the UK, one more than in the City of London and Westminster South by-election, 1977

City of London and Westminster South by-election, 1977

The City of London and Westminster South by-election on 24 February 1977 was held after Conservative Member of Parliament Christopher Tugendhat resigned the seat upon his appointment to the European Commission...

. This record was again broken at the Croydon North West by-election, 1981

Croydon North West by-election, 1981

The Croydon North West by-election took place on 22 October 1981. It was caused by the death of Conservative Member of Parliament Robert Taylor on 18 June 1981.The Conservative Party selected John Butterfill, then vice-chairman of Guildford Conservative Association...

.

Results

Labour held the seat, but with a significantly reduced majority, as the Conservatives picked up votes. While the National Front only won 6.2% of the vote, this enabled them to beat the Liberals into an embarrassing fourth place. Three of the socialist parties won around 1% of the votes each, a result which was most disappointing for the Workers Revolutionary Party, who had stood in the constituency in previous years and had stood a well-known candidate.

Tilley held the constituency until its abolition in 1983, but proved unable to win a new seat at that year's election. Hanley was elected for Richmond and Barnes

Richmond and Barnes (UK Parliament constituency)

Richmond and Barnes was a parliamentary constituency in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, a south-western suburb of the capital. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

 at 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...

. The National Front suffered several splits and declined in importance, never again beating a major party candidate at a by-election. The Socialist Workers Party decided against contesting elections, but the other socialist organisations stood candidates in 1979.