1957 Wednesbury by-election

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The 1957 Wednesbury by-election was held on 28 February 1957 after the incumbent Labour MP, Stanley Evans, resigned from the House of Commons and the Labour Party after he had refused to vote against the Conservative government on the Suez Crisis. The Labour candidate, John Stonehouse, retained the seat with an increased majority.

Background[]

In November 1956 there was a vote of confidence in the Conservative government caused by the Suez Crisis. Evans abstained on the vote, being the only Labour MP not to follow the party whip.[1] Although he was not disciplined by the Parliamentary Labour Party, the Wednesbury Divisional Labour Party were highly critical of him. On 17 November the Divisional Party unanimously passed a resolution calling on him to resign, and on 20 November Evans announced his resignation from both the House of Commons and the Labour Party.[2] He formally resigned his seat by taking the office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham on 26 November.[3]

Candidates[]

The resulting by-election was held on 28 February 1957.[4] The Labour Party chose John Stonehouse, a lecturer who had previously unsuccessfully contested two general elections at Twickenham and Burton-upon-Trent.[5] The Conservatives chose Peter Tapsell, a former member of the Conservative Research Department.[6] An independent candidate, Wolverhampton solicitor Michael Wade, announced his candidacy hours before the close of nominations on 18 February.[7]

Result[]

Stonehouse held the seat for Labour with an increased majority.[8]

Wednesbury by-election 1957[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Stonehouse 22,235 62.17 +1.77
Conservative Peter Tapsell 9,999 27.96 -11.64
Independent Michael Wade 3,529 9.87 +9.87
Majority 12,236 34.21 +13.51
Turnout 35,763
Labour hold Swing

References[]

  1. ^ "Government Majority of 67 in Confidence Vote". The Times. 2 November 1956. p. 4.
  2. ^ "Mr S. Evans, M.P., resigns". The Times. 21 November 1956. p. 6.
  3. ^ "No. 40936". The London Gazette. 27 November 1956. p. 6727.
  4. ^ "Polling Date in Wednesbury". The Times. 11 February 1957. p. 4.
  5. ^ "Labour's Choice for Wednesbury". 21 January 1957. p. 4.
  6. ^ "Conservative Choice". The Times. 5 January 1957. p. 3.
  7. ^ "Independent Candidate Steps In At Wednesbury". The Times. 19 February 1957. p. 4.
  8. ^ "Labour Holds Wednesbury". The Times. 1 March 1957. p. 8.
  9. ^ "1957 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 2012-03-29. Retrieved 2015-08-14.
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