Meriden by-election, 1968
Encyclopedia
The Meriden by-election, 1968 was a by-election
held for the British House of Commons
constituency
of Meriden
in Warwickshire
on 28 March 1968. It was won by the Conservative Party
candidate Keith Speed
.
Member of Parliament
(MP), Christopher Rowland
had died on 5 November 1967. He had held the seat since the 1964 general election
.
. It was one of the three Conservative gains from Labour on the same day, the others being at Acton
and Dudley
.
Speed held the seat until the February 1974 general election
, when he lost the seat back to Labour. He would go on to become MP for Ashford
.
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 Meriden
Meriden (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:- Notes and references :...
in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
on 28 March 1968. 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 Keith Speed
Keith Speed
Sir Herbert "Keith" Speed, RD, DL is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom and former Member of Parliament. He is a descendant of cartographer and historian John Speed....
.
Vacancy
The seat had become vacant when the 38-year-old LabourLabour 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,...
(MP), Christopher Rowland
Christopher Rowland
Christopher John Salter Rowland was a British politician. He was rated one of the more effective of the Labour Party's 1964 intake to Parliament, but died at the age of 38.-Student life:...
had died on 5 November 1967. He had held the seat since the 1964 general election
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...
.
Result
The result was a clear victory for Speed in what had been a Labour marginal seatMarginal seat
A marginal seat, or swing seat, is a constituency held with a particularly small majority in a legislative election, generally conducted under a single-winner voting system. In Canada they may be known as target ridings. The opposite is a safe seat....
. It was one of the three Conservative gains from Labour on the same day, the others being at Acton
Acton by-election, 1968
The Acton by-election of 28 March 1968 was held after the death of Labour Member of Parliament Bernard Floud on 10 October 1967. The seat was gained by the Conservatives in a defeat for Harold Wilson's government. It was one of the three Conservative gains from Labour on the same day, the others...
and Dudley
Dudley by-election, 1968
The Dudley by-election, 1968 was a by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Dudley in Worcestershire on 28 March 1968...
.
Speed held the seat until the February 1974 general election
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,...
, when he lost the seat back to Labour. He would go on to become MP for Ashford
Ashford (UK Parliament constituency)
Ashford is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post voting system.-Boundaries:...
.
Votes
See also
- Meriden constituencyMeriden (UK Parliament constituency)-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:- Notes and references :...
- List of United Kingdom by-elections