Hull North by-election, 1966
The Hull North by-election of 27 January 1966 was held after the death of Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Henry Solomons on 7 November 1965. The seat was retained by the Labour Party. This has been attributed to the announcement of the construction of the Humber Bridge by the government during the campaign.
Results
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Kevin McNamara | 24,479 | 52.22 | +8.91 | |
Conservative | Toby Jessel | 19,128 | 40.81 | +0.05 | |
Liberal | Mrs. Laurie Millward | 2,945 | 6.28 | -11.6 | |
Radical Alliance | Richard Gott | 253 | 0.54 | N/A | |
Independent | Russsell E Eckley | 35 | 0.07 | N/A | |
Independent | Kelvin Woodburne | 33 | 0.07 | N/A | |
Turnout | 46,873 | ||||
Majority | 5,351 | 11.41 | |||
Labour hold | Swing | +4.4 | |||
Aftermath
Prime Minister Harold Wilson's Labour Party formed a government after winning a majority of four seats in the 1964 general election. Shortly after this by-election, Wilson called a general election for 31 March. Wilson's hope that he would be returned to office with a larger majority had been encouraged by the government's victory in the by-election. In the end Wilson's decision was vindicated, as Labour was returned with a larger majority of 96.