West Derbyshire by-election, 1967
Encyclopedia
The West Derbyshire
by-election
for the British House of Commons took place on 23 November 1967. It was caused by the resignation of Conservative
Member of Parliament
(MP) Aidan Crawley
to become Chairman of London Weekend Television
where he remained until 1973. The seat was retained for the Conservatives by James Scott-Hopkins
with a majority of 10,623 over the Liberal candidate Aza Pinney (5,696 votes). Labour's Robin Corbett came third with 5,284 and an Independent, Robert Goodall (who had contested the seat twice before in 1944 and 1945), was fourth with 1,496 votes - losing his deposit.
The election was a low-key affair because there had been an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease
in the area and restrictions had been placed on vehicle movement, with the effect of keeping the usual loud-speaker vans and cars offering lifts to the polls off the roads. Also, many farmers and their families and workers were expected to stay in their farms on polling day and it was not possible for the parties to bring in much help from outside the constituency. Turnout was actually 64.6% as compared to 83.4% at the previous general election (1966)
.
The result was a blow to the Labour government with the Tories doubling the size of their majority and achieving a swing of 13% against Labour. The Liberals
also took heart from the result as they were able to leapfrog Labour into second place improving their share of the poll from 13.2% at the previous general election to 19.8%. Their candidate, Aza Pinney, claimed that fog on election night had prevented some of the support they were expecting to come out to vote. Mr Pinney, a Dorsetshire farmer, was later selected as Liberal candidate for West Devon
and was appointed organiser of the Liberals' campaign for the European referendum. The main points of his campaign were industrial democracy, membership of the Common Market and reducing overseas defence costs.
West Derbyshire (UK Parliament constituency)
West Derbyshire was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1885 until it was replaced by the Derbyshire Dales constituency in the 2010 General Election, it elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post voting system.It...
by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
for the British House of Commons took place on 23 November 1967. It was caused by the resignation of 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) Aidan Crawley
Aidan Crawley
Aidan Merivale Crawley, MBE was a British journalist, television executive and editor, and politician...
to become Chairman of London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
where he remained until 1973. The seat was retained for the Conservatives by James Scott-Hopkins
James Scott-Hopkins
Sir James Sidney Rawdon Scott-Hopkins was a British Conservative Party politician.Born in Croydon, Scott-Hopkins was educated at Eton College and Oxford University. He joined the British Army in 1939...
with a majority of 10,623 over the Liberal candidate Aza Pinney (5,696 votes). Labour's Robin Corbett came third with 5,284 and an Independent, Robert Goodall (who had contested the seat twice before in 1944 and 1945), was fourth with 1,496 votes - losing his deposit.
The election was a low-key affair because there had been an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease or hoof-and-mouth disease is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids...
in the area and restrictions had been placed on vehicle movement, with the effect of keeping the usual loud-speaker vans and cars offering lifts to the polls off the roads. Also, many farmers and their families and workers were expected to stay in their farms on polling day and it was not possible for the parties to bring in much help from outside the constituency. Turnout was actually 64.6% as compared to 83.4% at the previous general election (1966)
United Kingdom general election, 1966
The 1966 United Kingdom general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected a mere 17 months previously in 1964 had an unworkably small majority of only 4 MPs...
.
The result was a blow to the Labour government with the Tories doubling the size of their majority and achieving a swing of 13% against Labour. 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...
also took heart from the result as they were able to leapfrog Labour into second place improving their share of the poll from 13.2% at the previous general election to 19.8%. Their candidate, Aza Pinney, claimed that fog on election night had prevented some of the support they were expecting to come out to vote. Mr Pinney, a Dorsetshire farmer, was later selected as Liberal candidate for West Devon
West Devon (UK Parliament constituency)
West Devon was a county constituency in Devon, in the South-West of England. 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 system....
and was appointed organiser of the Liberals' campaign for the European referendum. The main points of his campaign were industrial democracy, membership of the Common Market and reducing overseas defence costs.