Sutton and Cheam by-election, 1972
Encyclopedia
The Sutton and Cheam
by-election
of 7 December 1972 was held after Conservative
Member of Parliament
(MP) Richard Sharples
was appointed Governor of Bermuda
. In a defeat for Edward Heath
's government the seat was taken by the Liberals
. This was the second Liberal gain during the 1970-1974 Parliament, during which they gained five seats overall.
Sutton and Cheam (UK Parliament constituency)
Sutton and Cheam is a 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 system of election. The current MP is Paul Burstow of the Liberal Democrats, first elected at the 1997 general election...
by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
of 7 December 1972 was held after Conservative
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...
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) Richard Sharples
Richard Sharples
Major Sir Richard Christopher Sharples KCMG OBE MC , St. George, Bermuda) was a British politician and Governor of Bermuda from late 1972 to 10 March 1973 when he was shot dead by assassins linked to the militant Black Beret Cadre, a small Bermudian Black Power group.-Career:Sharples passed out...
was appointed Governor of Bermuda
Governor of Bermuda
The Governor of Bermuda is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Bermuda. The Governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government...
. In a defeat for 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 ....
's government the seat was taken by the Liberals
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...
. This was the second Liberal gain during the 1970-1974 Parliament, during which they gained five seats overall.