Liverpool Edge Hill by-election, 1979
Encyclopedia
The Liverpool Edge Hill by-election of 1979 was a parliamentary by-election
held in England
on 29 March 1979 to elect a new Member of Parliament
(MP) for the House of Commons constituency
of Liverpool Edge Hill
.
Polling in the by-election took place one day after the government of James Callaghan
had lost a vote of no confidence in parliament
and slightly over a month before the 1979 general election
. The seat had become vacant on the death the previous December of the constituency's Labour Party
MP Sir Arthur Irvine
, who had held the seat since a by-election in 1947
.
The result was a gain for the Liberal Party
, represented by David Alton
.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 29 March 1979 to elect a new 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) for the House of Commons 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 Liverpool Edge Hill
Liverpool Edge Hill (UK Parliament constituency)
Liverpool Edge Hill was a borough constituency within the city and metropolitan borough of Liverpool, in the English county of Merseyside, centred around Edge Hill...
.
Polling in the by-election took place one day after the government of James Callaghan
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
had lost a vote of no confidence in parliament
1979 vote of no confidence against the government of James Callaghan
The 1979 vote of no confidence in the government of James Callaghan was a vote of no confidence in the British Labour Government of James Callaghan which occurred on 28 March 1979. The vote was brought by opposition leader Margaret Thatcher and was lost by the Labour Government by one vote ,...
and slightly over a month before the 1979 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
. The seat had become vacant on the death the previous December of the constituency's 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...
MP Sir Arthur Irvine
Arthur Irvine
Sir Arthur James Irvine, QC was a British politician.Irvine was educated at Edinburgh Academy and Oriel College, Oxford, where he was president of the Oxford Union in 1932. He became a barrister in 1935, when he was called by Middle Temple, and became secretary to the Lord Chief Justice 1935-40...
, who had held the seat since a by-election in 1947
Liverpool Edge Hill by-election, 1947
The Liverpool Edge Hill by-election, 1947 was a parliamentary by-election held in England to elect a new Member of Parliament for the British House of Commons constituency of Liverpool Edge Hill on 11 September 1947...
.
The result was a gain for 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...
, represented by David Alton
David Alton, Baron Alton of Liverpool
David Patrick Paul Alton, Baron Alton of Liverpool is a British politician. He is a former Liberal Party and later Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament who now sits as cross bench member of the House of Lords. He was made a Life peer as Baron Alton of Liverpool, of Mossley Hill in the County of...
.
Votes
See also
- Liverpool Edge Hill (UK Parliament constituency)Liverpool Edge Hill (UK Parliament constituency)Liverpool Edge Hill was a borough constituency within the city and metropolitan borough of Liverpool, in the English county of Merseyside, centred around Edge Hill...
- Liverpool Edge Hill by-election, 1947Liverpool Edge Hill by-election, 1947The Liverpool Edge Hill by-election, 1947 was a parliamentary by-election held in England to elect a new Member of Parliament for the British House of Commons constituency of Liverpool Edge Hill on 11 September 1947...
- List of United Kingdom by-elections
- List of Parliamentary constituencies in Merseyside