1978 Ilford North by-election
UK parliamentary by-election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1978 Ilford North by-election of 2 March 1978 was held following the death of Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Millie Miller on 29 October 1977. The seat was gained by the Conservatives in a defeat for James Callaghan's government.
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2 March 1978
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Constituency of Ilford North | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Vivian Bendall | 22,548 | 50.31 | +9.43 | |
| Labour | Tessa Jowell | 17,051 | 38.04 | –4.44 | |
| Liberal | John Freeman | 2,248 | 5.02 | –11.62 | |
| National Front | John Hughes | 2,126 | 4.74 | New | |
| Conservative Independent Democrat | Tom Iremonger | 671 | 1.50 | New | |
| East London People's Front | Carole Rowe | 89 | 0.20 | New | |
| New Britain | Alfred Burr | 48 | 0.11 | New | |
| Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident | Bill Boaks | 38 | 0.08 | New | |
| Majority | 5,497 | 12.27 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 44,819 | 69.10 | −5.36 | ||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
- Alfred Burr was exposed as a convicted child abuser after nominations closed, resulting in the withdrawal of his endorsement by the New Britain Party and his withdrawal from election six days before the date of the by-election.
Previous result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Millie Miller | 20,621 | 42.48 | +4.48 | |
| Conservative | Tom Iremonger | 19,843 | 40.88 | +2.32 | |
| Liberal | Gareth Wilson | 8,080 | 16.64 | −6.80 | |
| Majority | 778 | 1.60 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 48,544 | 74.46 | −5.15 | ||
| Registered electors | 65,195 | ||||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||