Knutsford by-election, 1979
The Knutsford by-election, 1979 was a by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Knutsford in Cheshire on 1 March 1979. It was won by the Conservative Party candidate Jock Bruce-Gardyne.
Vacancy
The seat had become vacant when the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), John Davies had resigned due to illness on 6 November 1978. He had held the seat since the 1970 general election and had served as Secretary of State for Industry and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the Government of Edward Heath, having previously been Director of the Confederation of British Industry.
Candidates
The Conservative candidate was 48-year-old Jock Bruce-Gardyne, who had been MP for South Angus from 1964 until his defeat at the October 1974 general election. The Labour Party candidate was Alan Barton, and the Liberals fielded Robert Ingham. Michael Byrne stood as an Independent Conservative.
Result
The result was a clear victory for Bruce-Gardyne in this Conservative safe seat, with a much increased majority of 16,880. Both the Labour and Liberal vote fell by a few per cent.
Bruce-Gardyne held the seat until its abolition for the 1983 general election, when he was effectively forced out of the Commons due to a reduction of the number of Cheshire seats. He was elevated to the House of Lords in the same year.
Votes
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Jock Bruce-Gardyne | 22,086 | 67.1 | +16.1 | |
Liberal | Robert Ingham | 5,206 | 15.8 | −10.6 | |
Labour | Alan Barton | 5,124 | 15.6 | −7.0 | |
Independent Conservative | Michael Byrne | 486 | 1.5 | N/A | |
Majority | 16,880 | 51.3 | +26.7 | ||
Turnout | 32,902 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +13.4 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Davies | 21,636 | 51.0 | ||
Liberal | B. Lomax | 11,210 | 26.4 | ||
Labour | D.L. Swain | 9.565 | 22.6 | ||
Majority | 10,426 | 24.6 | |||
Turnout | 42,411 | 76.8 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
See also
References
- ↑ "1979 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2015-09-17.