Workington by-election, 1976
Encyclopedia
The Workington by-election, 1976 was a parliamentary by-election
held in England
for the House of Commons constituency
of Workington
in Cumbria
on 4 November 1976. It was won by the Conservative Party
candidate Richard Page
, who became the first non-Labour MP in the constituency’s history.
Member of Parliament
(MP), Fred Peart had been elevated to the peerage in order to serve as Leader of the House of Lords
and Lord Privy Seal
. He had held the seat since the 1945 general election
, and had served in previous Cabinets under Harold Wilson
and James Callaghan
.
in both the February
and October
elections of 1974.
The Conservative Party
candidate was Richard Page
, who was 35 and had contested the Workington seat against Peart in both 1974 General Elections.
defeat of 1931
.
Both the main contenders in this by-election would go on to long Parliamentary careers. Campbell-Savours defeated Page for the Workington seat at the 1979 election
, and would represent it until standing down at the 2001 election
, when he was elevated to the Lords.
After his defeat, Page soon returned to the House of Commons at a 1979 by-election
for the constituency of South West Hertfordshire, which he would represent until the 2005 election
.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for the House of Commons constituency
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
of Workington
Workington (UK Parliament constituency)
Workington is a 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:...
in Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
on 4 November 1976. It was won by the Conservative Party
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...
candidate Richard Page
Richard Page
Richard Lewis Page is a former Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and from December 1979 to 2005.-Early life:He is the son of Victor Charles Page...
, who became the first non-Labour MP in the constituency’s history.
Vacancy
The seat had become vacant when the 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), Fred Peart had been elevated to the peerage in order to serve as Leader of the House of Lords
Leader of the House of Lords
The Leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The role is always held in combination with a formal Cabinet position, usually one of the sinecure offices of Lord President of the Council,...
and Lord Privy Seal
Lord Privy Seal
The Lord Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. The office is one of the traditional sinecure offices of state...
. He had held the seat since the 1945 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
, and had served in previous Cabinets under Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
and James Callaghan
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
.
Candidates
The Labour candidate was 33-year-old Dale Campbell-Savours, the Managing Director of a clock company who had fought DarwenDarwen (UK Parliament constituency)
Darwen was a county constituency in Lancashire, centred on the town of Darwen. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election....
in both the February
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,...
and October
United Kingdom general election, October 1974
The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of...
elections of 1974.
The Conservative Party
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...
candidate was Richard Page
Richard Page
Richard Lewis Page is a former Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and from December 1979 to 2005.-Early life:He is the son of Victor Charles Page...
, who was 35 and had contested the Workington seat against Peart in both 1974 General Elections.
Result
The result was a surprise victory for Page and the Conservatives, with a majority of 1,065 votes. Workington had been a safe Labour seat, held even in the landslideLandslide victory
In politics, a landslide victory is the victory of a candidate or political party by an overwhelming margin in an election...
defeat of 1931
United Kingdom general election, 1931
The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...
.
Both the main contenders in this by-election would go on to long Parliamentary careers. Campbell-Savours defeated Page for the Workington seat at the 1979 election
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
, and would represent it until standing down at the 2001 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...
, when he was elevated to the Lords.
After his defeat, Page soon returned to the House of Commons at a 1979 by-election
South West Hertfordshire by-election, 1979
The South West Hertfordshire by-election, 1979 was a parliamentary by-election held on 13 December 1979 for the British House of Commons constituency of South West Hertfordshire.- Previous MP :...
for the constituency of South West Hertfordshire, which he would represent until the 2005 election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
.
Votes
See also
- Workington constituencyWorkington (UK Parliament constituency)Workington is a 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:...
- List of United Kingdom by-elections (1950-1979)