1964 Bury St Edmunds by-election

The Bury St Edmunds by-election of 1964 was held on 14 May 1964 after the death of the incumbent Conservative MP, Sir William Aitken. It was retained by the Conservative candidate Eldon Griffiths.[1][2]

The by-election was one of four (the others being Rutherglen, Devizes and Winchester) being held on the same day in which the seat was being defended by a candidate supporting the incumbent Conservative government. With a general election due later in the year, the results were anticipated with interest as a pointer to what might happen at the election, with the Labour candidate in Bury St Edmunds confidently predicting victory. The Glasgow Herald noted that his prediction would require a swing of over 8% and even if this was achieved predicted he would have such a small majority that the Conservatives would regain the seat later in the year.[3]

Result
Bury St Edmunds by-election, 1964[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Eldon Griffiths 22,141 49.0 -9.8
Labour Noel Insley 19,682 43.5 +2.2
Liberal Richard Afton 3,387 7.5 New
Majority 2,459 5.5 -12.0
Turnout 45,210
Conservative hold Swing

Outcome

Of the four concurrent by-elections, it was the result at Bury St Edmunds which was the last to be known. The swing of 6% to Labour was less than that it achieved in Winchester and Rutherglen, the latter of which Labour gained, but better than in Devizes. The Glasgow Herald stated that the result was better for the Conservatives than had been expected and combined with others cast doubt on opinion polls suggesting a significant national Labour lead. It suggested that there was now hope among Conservatives that the political tide was turning in their favour.[5]

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. Boehm, Brian R. Mitchell, Klaus (14 January 2018). "British parliamentary election results, 1950-1964". CUP Archive – via Google Books.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. "Testing the Electorate. Hopes and Fears in Four Constituencies". The Glasgow Herald. 14 May 1964. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  4. "1964 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 31 August 2009. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  5. "Government Retain Bury St Edmunds. Happier Days Again for Tory Workers". The Glasgow Herald. 16 May 1964. p. 7. Retrieved 15 October 2021.


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