Hereford by-election, 1956
Encyclopedia
The Hereford
by-election
of 14 February 1956 was held after the death of Conservative
Member of Parliament
(MP) Jim Thomas
:
The seat was safe, having been won by Thomas at the United Kingdom general election, 1955
albeit with a reduced majority of over 9,000 votes
Hereford (UK Parliament constituency)
Hereford was, until 2010, a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since 1918, it had elected one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system....
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 14 February 1956 was held after the death 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) Jim Thomas
James Thomas, 1st Viscount Cilcennin
James Purdon Lewes "Jim" Thomas, 1st Viscount Cilcennin was a British Conservative politician. He served as First Lord of the Admiralty between 1951 and 1956.-Background and education:...
:
The seat was safe, having been won by Thomas at the United Kingdom general election, 1955
United Kingdom general election, 1955
The 1955 United Kingdom general election was held on 26 May 1955, four years after the previous general election. It resulted in a substantially increased majority of 60 for the Conservative government under new leader and prime minister Sir Anthony Eden against Labour Party, now in their 20th year...
albeit with a reduced majority of over 9,000 votes
Candidates
- David Gibson-Watt was the Conservative candidate to hold the seat. He had served in the Welsh Guards and was a former local councillor.
- Frank OwenFrank Owen (politician)Humphrey Frank Owen was a British journalist and Liberal Member of Parliament. He was a Lloyd Georgite Liberal MP for Hereford between 1929 and 1931...
A local man who had served in his youth as the Liberal MP for Hereford between 1929 and 1931. At the 1955 General Election, he had contested the seat for the first time since losing it in 1931, and polled a good second place. - Labour candidate Bryan StanleyBryan StanleyBryan Capewell Stanley was a British trade union leader.Born in Walsall , and educated at Queen Mary's Grammar School, Stanley started work with the Post Office in 1942, and also joined the Post Office Engineering Union...
was, at the time, a technical engineer and member of the Labour National Executive Committee.