1967 Walthamstow West by-election

The Walthamstow West by-election of 21 September 1967 was held after the death of Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Ted Redhead on 15 April of that year. The seat was gained by the Conservative Party by just 62 votes.

Results
Walthamstow West, 1967[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Frederick Silvester 6,652 37.05 +12.27
Labour Eric Deakins 6,590 36.71 -24.46
Liberal Margaret Wingfield 4,105 22.87 +8.81
Anti-Common Market Oliver Smedley 542 3.02 New
Independent Robin Allen 63 0.35 New
Majority 62 0.34 N/A
Turnout 17,952
Conservative gain from Labour Swing

The election was held on the same day as the Cambridge by-election, where the Conservatives also gained a seat held by Labour, however at Cambridge the swing between the two parties was 8.6% compared with the 18.4% swing to the Conservatives at Walthamstow West. The Walthamstow West result was also significant as Labour had held the seat since 1929, and it had formerly been the seat of Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee.[2] An editorial in The Glasgow Herald the day after the result said that while the Cambridge result was "always expected" the Conservative victory in Walthamstow "almost defies belief" given that the Labour Party had held the seat during its crushing national defeat in 1931.[3]

References
  1. "1967 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  2. "Conservatives big double in by-elections". The Herald. Glasgow. 22 September 1967. p. 1. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  3. "Discontent". The Herald. Glasgow. 22 September 1967. p. 8. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
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