1969 Walthamstow East by-election

The Walthamstow East by-election of 27 March 1969 was held following the death of Labour Member of Parliament (MP) William Robinson. The seat was won by the opposition Conservative Party.[1]

Results
Walthamstow East by-Election, 1969[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Michael McNair-Wilson 13,158 63.15 +20.82
Labour Colin Phipps 7,679 36.85 -10.98
Majority 5,479 26.30 N/A
Turnout 20,837
Conservative gain from Labour Swing
General election 1966: Walthamstow East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Robinson 15,703 47.83
Conservative John Harvey 13,896 42.33
Liberal John Peter James Ellis 3,229 9.84
Majority 1,807 5.50
Turnout 32,828 80.11
Labour gain from Conservative Swing

Aftermath

This defeat marked the twelfth time that Labour had failed to successfully defend a seat it held at a by-election since the the last general election.[3] The gain at Walthamstow was one of three Conservative wins in by-elections held that day, with the Party also retaining Brighton Pavilion and holding Weston-super-Mare from Labour. Across the three contests there was an average swing of 16% from Labour to Conservative, which Conservative Shadow Home Secretary Quintin Hogg noted would give his party a comfortable majority in the House of Commons if repeated at the next general election. Anthony Barber, the Chairman of the Conservative Party, noted that his party had now won 10 seats from Labour since the last general election and called on the Labour Government to "throw in the towel."[4] The next day's Glasgow Herald reported that the "dispiriting performance" by Labour in the three by-elections, the first contests of 1969, raised questions as to when the tide would turn for the party and noted that "some Labour MPS feel in their bones" that the party could not recover to win the general election which would come within the next two years. However the same article noted that the much reduced turnout in Walthamstow East (and in the Brighton contest) had distorted the results and could be argued by Labour as evidence that its supporters had stayed at home and were reserving their judgement on the Government.[3]

References
  1. Result from previous election
  2. "1969 By Election Results". British Elections Ephemera Archive. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  3. Our Political Correspondent (28 March 1969). "Labour still seeking turn of the tide". The Glasgow Herald. p. 1. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  4. "By-election treble for the Tories". The Glasgow Herald. 28 March 1969. p. 1. Retrieved 8 February 2021.


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