Oswestry by-election, 1961

The 1961 Oswestry by-election was held on 9 November 1961. It was held due to the incumbent Conservative MP and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, William Ormsby-Gore becoming the British Ambassador to Washington.^[1] The by-election was won by the future Conservative cabinet minister John Biffen.

Candidates

The local Liberals selected 36 year old John Buchanan. He was born in July 1925 and was educated at Collyer's School, Horsham He was standing for parliament for the first time.^[2]

Result

Oswestry by-election, 1961^[3][4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	William John Biffen	12,428	40.8	-15.1
	Liberal	John R. Buchanan	8,647	28.4	+12.3
	Labour	Alastair Brian Walden	8,519	28.0	-0.0
	Patriotic Front	John E. Dayton	839	2.8	n/a
Majority			3,781	12.4	-15.5
Turnout			30,433	60.8	-13.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	-13.7

References

1. The London Gazette: no. 42519. p. 8445. 21 November 1961. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
2. The Times House of Commons, 1966
3. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1973
4. "1961 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 2012-03-25. Retrieved 2015-08-15.