Bassetlaw by-election, 1968
Encyclopedia
The Bassetlaw by-election, 1968 was a parliamentary by-election
for the constituency of Bassetlaw
held on 31 October 1968. It was caused by the death of the former Labour Member of Parliament, Fred Bellenger
.
The Labour
candidate, Joe Ashton, was a Sheffield city councillor. His Conservative
opponent was Jim Lester
, a Nottingham businessman. The Liberal party decided against contesting the seat for financial reasons. There was one independent, Tom Lynch of the National Union of Small Shopkeepers, who campaigned for a coalition of all the parties and the end of the fivepenny post.
Early reports suggested a low turnout was likely, due to voter disenchantment with the major parties, and Labour had some reason to fear its supporters staying away. Pit closures were an important issue in a constituency with a large mining vote. Ashton argued that the Labour government's approach, which included redundancy payments to miners over the age of 55, was better than the approach of the Conservatives when they were in power. The other major issues were reported as taxes, prices, employment and education. Although Bellenger had had a majority at the last general election of 10,428 and the seat would require a swing
of 11.6 per cent at a time when opinion polls put the Conservatives just 7.5 per cent ahead, they took hope from the fact that recent by-elections in Nelson and Colne
and Oldham West
had seen comparable movements as economic conditions made the government very unpopular.
On the day, Labour retained its seat but its majority was slashed to just 740 votes, with the independent candidate picking up over a thousand. Commentators suggested that although this was a bad result for Labour ("If Labour's grip on Bassetlaw, a bedrock citadel of theirs for 44 years, is reduced to a perilous hanging-on by the fingernails, they cannot fail to be unnerved") they could take hope from the fact that the trend since previous by-elections seemed to be moving back them.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
for the constituency of Bassetlaw
Bassetlaw (UK Parliament constituency)
Bassetlaw 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 system of election.-Boundaries:...
held on 31 October 1968. It was caused by the death of the former Labour Member of Parliament, Fred Bellenger
Frederick Bellenger
Captain Frederick John Bellenger was a British surveyor, journalist, soldier and Labour Party politician.-Soldier:...
.
The Labour
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...
candidate, Joe Ashton, was a Sheffield city councillor. His 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...
opponent was Jim Lester
Jim Lester
Sir James Theodore Lester, , known as Jim Lester, is a former British Conservative Party politician.Born in Nottingham, Lester was Member of Parliament for Beeston between February 1974 and 1983, then for Broxtowe until the 1997 election, when he lost his seat to Labour...
, a Nottingham businessman. The Liberal party decided against contesting the seat for financial reasons. There was one independent, Tom Lynch of the National Union of Small Shopkeepers, who campaigned for a coalition of all the parties and the end of the fivepenny post.
Early reports suggested a low turnout was likely, due to voter disenchantment with the major parties, and Labour had some reason to fear its supporters staying away. Pit closures were an important issue in a constituency with a large mining vote. Ashton argued that the Labour government's approach, which included redundancy payments to miners over the age of 55, was better than the approach of the Conservatives when they were in power. The other major issues were reported as taxes, prices, employment and education. Although Bellenger had had a majority at the last general election of 10,428 and the seat would require a swing
Swing (United Kingdom)
An Electoral Swing Analysis shows the extent of change in voter support from one election to another. It can be used as a means of comparison between individual candidates or political parties for a given electoral region or demographic....
of 11.6 per cent at a time when opinion polls put the Conservatives just 7.5 per cent ahead, they took hope from the fact that recent by-elections in Nelson and Colne
Nelson and Colne (UK Parliament constituency)
Nelson and Colne was a constituency in Lancashire which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election....
and Oldham West
Oldham West by-election, 1968
The Oldham West by-election for the British House of Commons took place on 13 June 1968, at a time when the Labour government of Harold Wilson was deeply unpopular. The election was caused by the resignation of Labour Member of Parliament Charles Leslie Hale for reasons of ill health...
had seen comparable movements as economic conditions made the government very unpopular.
On the day, Labour retained its seat but its majority was slashed to just 740 votes, with the independent candidate picking up over a thousand. Commentators suggested that although this was a bad result for Labour ("If Labour's grip on Bassetlaw, a bedrock citadel of theirs for 44 years, is reduced to a perilous hanging-on by the fingernails, they cannot fail to be unnerved") they could take hope from the fact that the trend since previous by-elections seemed to be moving back them.