The 1969 Swindon by-election of 30 October 1969 was held after Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Francis Noel-Baker resigned from the House of Commons. The seat was won by the Conservative Party in a defeat for Harold Wilson's government.[1]

Background

To defend the seat they had won with a majority of over 10,000 votes at the 1966 general election Labour chose David Stoddart, a member of Reading Borough Council since 1954 and leader of the Labour Party group on that council since 1962. He had previously stood as the Labour candidate for Newbury in the 1959 and 1964 general elections. The Conservatives, who had come second at the last election, chose Christopher Ward, a solicitor and member of Berkshire County Council.[2]

Result

Swindon by-Election, 1969[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Christopher Ward 16,843 41.73 +5.06
Labour David Stoddart 16,365 40.54 -20.81
Liberal Christopher Layton 6,193 15.34 New
Communist Judith Gradwell 518 1.28 -0.70
Young Socialist Frank Willis 446 1.10 New
Majority 478 1.19 N/A
Turnout 40,365
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +12.9
General election 1966: Swindon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Francis Noel-Baker 25,966 61.35
Conservative NG Reece 15,523 36.67
Communist I Gradwell 838 1.98
Majority 10,443 24.68
Turnout 42,357 73.51
Labour hold Swing

Aftermath

This was one of five by-elections held on the same day where Labour were trying to retain a seat that they held. While they held the other four seats, with the exception of Glasgow Gorbals, none of them was a comfortable hold, with Labour's majorities being significantly reduced by the Conservatives. The swing to the Conservatives in Swindon was 12.9%, which was much more than the 4% swing the Conservatives required if they were to win the next general election. This was the 14th seat that Labour had lost in a by-election since the 1966 general election.[4]

A report in the following day's The Glasgow Herald argued the Liberal Party's "big challenge" in Swindon "possibly contributed to Labour's defeat", but also blamed "the Government's neglect of the constituency, having left it vacant since February."[4]

At the following year's general election, Stoddart stood again as Labour's candidate and this time defeated Ward with a majority of 5,576 votes.[2]

References

  1. ^ Full result Archived 2012-03-14 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1970. London: Times Newspapers Ltd. 1970. p. 213.
  3. ^ "1969 By Election Results". British Elections Ephemera Archive. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  4. ^ a b Warden, John (31 October 1969). "Tories Gain One Seat in Five By-elections". The Glasgow Herald. p. 1. Retrieved 15 February 2021.


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