Chester-le-Street by-election, 1973
Encyclopedia
The Chester-le-Street by-election, 1973 was a parliamentary by-election
held for the British House of Commons
constituency of Chester-le-Street
on 1 March 1973.
Member of Parliament
(MP) Norman Pentland
. Pentland had held Chester-le-Street since himself winning a by-election
there on 27 September 1956.
selected merchant banker Neil Balfour
and the Liberals
adopted George Suggett, an antique dealer from Newbury
in Berkshire
but who had been born in the constituency and who was the son of a Durham
miner. The Liberals had not contested any Parliamentary election in Chester-le-Street since the 1929 general election
.
had been a straight fight between Labour and Conservative parties at which Norman Pentland had a healthy majority of 20,331 votes.
which was proving difficult for Prime Minister
Edward Heath
, damaged politically as he was by a series of economic and social problems there was no expectation of a serious challenge from Tory
candidate Neil Balfour.
The by-election came at a better time for the Liberal Party. The Liberals had won two by-elections at the end of 1972; the first at Rochdale
had been won from Labour by Cyril Smith
, the second at Sutton and Cheam
had been captured from the Conservatives. Cook & Ramsden characterise 1972-73 as a time of Liberal surge. Further by-election success would follow for the Liberals during the 1970-1974 Parliament. Further difficulties would also follow for Labour with the by-election at Lincoln
which was held on the same day as Chester-le-Street. This resulted in the return to Parliament of Dick Taverne standing for election as Democratic Labour
candidate, having fallen out with his local Constituency Labour Party
. The problems Labour experienced in Lincoln, particularly in relation to the pro-European views of people like Taverne and Roy Jenkins
, have been cited as an early example the kind of problems which led ultimately to the split in the Labour Party in 1981 and the formation of the Social Democratic Party
. In July 1974 similar trouble emerged for Labour with the defection to the Liberals of Christopher Mayhew, Labour MP for Woolwich East
.
. The Liberals were starting from scratch in their campaign and attacked Labour for its complacency in an area which it was alleged they took their support for granted and the Conservatives on their performance on questions such as poverty and unemployment.
magazine published an article on 23 February 1973, written by journalist Richard West, alleging that officials of the General and Municipal Workers Union had systematically gained control of the Chester-le-Street Constituency Labour Party
and had in effect gerrymandered their representation in the division to obtain more votes than affiliated branches of other trade unions. In his article West claimed that the union’s tactics had proved unpopular and divisive inside the local Labour party with ‘loyal party workers’ and some groups, such as the women’s section, being particularly disgruntled.
affair and how it was uncovering new instances of corruption amongst Labour councillors in the North East, including one from Chester-le-Street who later went to prison. As far as the Liberal Party was concerned, commented Smith, this was legitimate political meat and needed no apology.
. Radice went on to represent Chester-le-Street in the Labour interest until the seat was abolished in 1983
. He was then selected as Labour candidate for North Durham
the successor seat which included large parts of the old Chester-le-Street constituency, until he stood down from Parliament at the 2001 general election
. Neil Balfour fought Chester-le-Street again at the February 1974 general election
again coming third behind the Liberals. Perhaps bruised by the attacks upon him, Suggett does not appear to have been a candidate at any further Parliamentary elections but played an active but more backroom role in Newbury
.
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 of Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street (UK Parliament constituency)
Chester-le-Street was a county constituency centred on the town of Chester-le-Street in County Durham. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
on 1 March 1973.
Vacancy
The by-election had been caused by the death aged 60 years on 28 October 1972 of the sitting 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) Norman Pentland
Norman Pentland
Norman Pentland was a British Labour Member of Parliament for Chester-le-Street. He won the constituency in a by-election in 1956, and served until his death at the age of 60 in 1972....
. Pentland had held Chester-le-Street since himself winning a by-election
Chester-le-Street by-election, 1956
The Chester-le-Street by-election, 1956 was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Chester-le-Street on 27 September 1956.-Vacancy:...
there on 27 September 1956.
Candidates
The Labour Party chose Giles Radice, the then Head of the Research Department of the General and Municipal Workers Union as their candidate. The ConservativesConservative 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...
selected merchant banker Neil Balfour
Neil Balfour
Neil Roxburgh Balfour is a British merchant banker and financier who had a second career as a politician.-Education:Balfour was educated at Ampleforth College, the leading British public school for Roman Catholics. He went on to University college, Oxford University, and then read for the Bar...
and 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...
adopted George Suggett, an antique dealer from Newbury
Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
but who had been born in the constituency and who was the son of a Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
miner. The Liberals had not contested any Parliamentary election in Chester-le-Street since the 1929 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
.
Previous general election
The contest in Chester-le-Street at the 1970 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1970
The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...
had been a straight fight between Labour and Conservative parties at which Norman Pentland had a healthy majority of 20,331 votes.
Political background to the by-election
By any measure Chester-le-Street was a very safe Labour seat and the party had held it for nearly 70 years. At a time of Conservative governmentConservative Government 1970-1974
Members of the Cabinet are in bold face.incompleteSource: D. Butler and G. Butler, Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900-2000...
which was proving difficult for Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
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 ....
, damaged politically as he was by a series of economic and social problems there was no expectation of a serious challenge from Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
candidate Neil Balfour.
The by-election came at a better time for the Liberal Party. The Liberals had won two by-elections at the end of 1972; the first at Rochdale
Rochdale by-election, 1972
The Rochdale by-election, 1972 was a parliamentary by-election held on 26 October 1972 for the British House of Commons constituency of Rochdale....
had been won from Labour by Cyril Smith
Cyril Smith
Sir Cyril Smith, MBE, was a British politician who served as Liberal and Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for the constituency of Rochdale from 1972 until his retirement in 1992.-Early life:...
, the second at Sutton and Cheam
Sutton and Cheam by-election, 1972
The Sutton and Cheam by-election of 7 December 1972 was held after Conservative Member of Parliament 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,...
had been captured from the Conservatives. Cook & Ramsden characterise 1972-73 as a time of Liberal surge. Further by-election success would follow for the Liberals during the 1970-1974 Parliament. Further difficulties would also follow for Labour with the by-election at Lincoln
Lincoln by-election, 1973
The Lincoln by-election of 1 March 1973 saw the re-election of Dick Taverne as Member of Parliament for Lincoln as a Democratic Labour representative, after Taverne's pro-Common Market views saw him repudiated by the Lincoln Constituency Labour Party...
which was held on the same day as Chester-le-Street. This resulted in the return to Parliament of Dick Taverne standing for election as Democratic Labour
Democratic Labour
This party is not to be confused with any of the other Democratic Labour partiesDemocratic Labour was a minor political party operating in the United Kingdom in the 1970s. They were formed by the Labour MP, Dick Taverne when his Constituency Labour Party asked him to stand down as their candidate...
candidate, having fallen out with his local Constituency Labour Party
Constituency Labour Party
A Constituency Labour Party is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular UK parliamentary constituency in England, Scotland and Wales. The Labour Party in Northern Ireland has, since February 2009, been organised as a province-wide Constituency Labour Party...
. The problems Labour experienced in Lincoln, particularly in relation to the pro-European views of people like Taverne and Roy Jenkins
Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...
, have been cited as an early example the kind of problems which led ultimately to the split in the Labour Party in 1981 and the formation of the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (UK)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
. In July 1974 similar trouble emerged for Labour with the defection to the Liberals of Christopher Mayhew, Labour MP for Woolwich East
Woolwich East (UK Parliament constituency)
Woolwich East was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until 1983...
.
By-election issues
Labour fought on the poor record of the Conservative government. The Tories highlighted improvements in pensions and government investment in regional development in the North East of EnglandNorth East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
. The Liberals were starting from scratch in their campaign and attacked Labour for its complacency in an area which it was alleged they took their support for granted and the Conservatives on their performance on questions such as poverty and unemployment.
Nomination of Giles Radice
An issue which surfaced during the campaign and which caused a great deal of bitterness was the question of how Labour candidate Giles Radice had been selected. The New StatesmanNew Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
magazine published an article on 23 February 1973, written by journalist Richard West, alleging that officials of the General and Municipal Workers Union had systematically gained control of the Chester-le-Street Constituency Labour Party
Constituency Labour Party
A Constituency Labour Party is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular UK parliamentary constituency in England, Scotland and Wales. The Labour Party in Northern Ireland has, since February 2009, been organised as a province-wide Constituency Labour Party...
and had in effect gerrymandered their representation in the division to obtain more votes than affiliated branches of other trade unions. In his article West claimed that the union’s tactics had proved unpopular and divisive inside the local Labour party with ‘loyal party workers’ and some groups, such as the women’s section, being particularly disgruntled.
Liberal ‘smears’
In the aftermath of this controversy, Labour turned its attack on the campaign of the Liberal candidate, accusing George Suggett of trying to smear Giles Radice personally and of trying to capitalise unfairly on the nomination issue. At the declaration of the votes, Radice announced that whereas the Conservatives had conducted a clean and honest campaign, he was not going to comment on the approach of his other opponent. As Suggett tried to make his speech after the declaration he was constantly heckled and jeered by the Labour supporters, who were later silent for the speech of Neil Balfour. Suggett denied he had smeared Radice and invited the press to review his election literature and campaign speeches for any evidence of misconduct. He said the real reason was so angry was that the Liberals had “broken the weighbridge on which the Labour majority in Chester-le-Street used to be weighed.” Cyril Smith, who had campaigned for Suggett in the by-election, recalled later that he deliberately, if obliquely, had raised the issue of political corruption by mentioning in a speech at the opening of the campaign the T. Dan SmithT. Dan Smith
Thomas Daniel Smith was a British politician who was Leader of Newcastle upon Tyne City Council from 1960 to 1965. He was a prominent figure in the Labour Party in the north east of England, such that he was nicknamed 'Mr Newcastle'...
affair and how it was uncovering new instances of corruption amongst Labour councillors in the North East, including one from Chester-le-Street who later went to prison. As far as the Liberal Party was concerned, commented Smith, this was legitimate political meat and needed no apology.
The Result
Radice held the seat for Labour with a majority of 7,066 over Suggett, having taken 53% of the poll. Balfour came third, losing his depositDeposit (politics)
A deposit is a sum of money that a candidate must pay in return for the right to stand for election to certain political offices, particularly seats in legislatures.-United Kingdom:...
. Radice went on to represent Chester-le-Street in the Labour interest until the seat was abolished in 1983
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
. He was then selected as Labour candidate for North Durham
North Durham (UK Parliament constituency)
North Durham is a county 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 successor seat which included large parts of the old Chester-le-Street constituency, until he stood down from Parliament at the 2001 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
. Neil Balfour fought Chester-le-Street again at 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,...
again coming third behind the Liberals. Perhaps bruised by the attacks upon him, Suggett does not appear to have been a candidate at any further Parliamentary elections but played an active but more backroom role in Newbury
Newbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Newbury is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It returns one Member of Parliament , elected by the first-past-the-post voting system....
.
The votes
See also
- List of United Kingdom by-elections
- United Kingdom by-election recordsUnited Kingdom by-election recordsUK by-election records is an annotated list of notable records from UK Parliamentary by-elections. A by-election occurs when a Member of Parliament resigns, dies, or is disqualified or expelled, and an election is held to fill the vacant seat...