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1969 Newcastle-under-Lyme by-election

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The 1969 Newcastle-under-Lyme by-election of 30 October 1969 was caused by the death of Labour MP Stephen Swingler in February of that year. It was held on the same day as four other by-elections[1] (in Glasgow Gorbals, Islington North, Paddington North, and Swindon) and the seat was retained by Labour.[2]

Results

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Newcastle-under-Lyme, 1969[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Golding 21,786[2] 46.13[2] −15.67'"`UNIQ−−ref−00000009−QINU`"'
Conservative Nicholas Winterton 20,744 43.92 +5.72
Liberal David Spreckley 2,999 6.35 New
Democratic Party D Parker 1,699 3.60 New
Majority 1,042 2.21 −21.40
Turnout 47,228 72.3 −7.6
Labour hold Swing

Aftermath

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Although the Conservatives achieved a 10.7% swing from Labour, John Golding claimed that his victory was a vote of confidence in Harold Wilson's Government. Conservative supporters responded by shouting "Rubbish", while their unsuccessful candidate, Nicholas Winterton, stated the result was notice for the Government "to quit - and soon".[4] The other three by-elections in England held on the same day also saw similar large swings to the Conservatives, with Swindon being gained by the latter party.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b UK Election Statistics: 1918-2004 RESEARCH PAPER 04/61 28 JULY 2004 Archived 14 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 27 October 2008
  2. ^ a b c GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS SINCE 1966, accessed 27 October 2008
  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 5 July 2020.