Liberals take seat in U.K. by-election

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33095, 9 December 1972, Page 15

Liberals take seat in U.K. by-election

(N.Z.P 1 . A.-Reuter—Copyright) LONDON, December 8.

Britain’s minority Liberal Party today inflicted a stunning Parliamentary by-election defeat on the ruling Conservatives—sending Liberal hopes of a major revival soaring and casting the Government into gloom.

The Liberals took the usually safe Conservative seat of Sutton and Cheam by a margin of nearly 7500 votes. At the 1970 General Election the Conservative majority in the south London suburb was more than 12,000.

Some political commentators described the outcome as the most surprising byelection result in 40 years. The Liberals, for most of this century third in a Parliamentary system dominated by the Conservative and Labour parties, saw the victory as further evidence of a major political swing in their favour. They now have eight seats in the House of Commons. Only last October the

party inflicted another surprise defeat on the Opposition Labour Party by taking the North England constituency of Rochdhle. The size of the Conservative defeat at Sutton will be a considerable shock to the Government, now at the halfway mark in its five-year term of office. It comes less than a month

before Britain is to join the European Common Market and shortly after the imposition of a 90-day wage and price freeze to stem inflation. However, there is some consolation for the Government in a Conservative victory at a second London byelection today. The party held on to the marginal western suburb of Uxbridge with a majority of more Sian 1000 votes over Labour. Here the Liberals failed to make an impression on electors, polling some 500 fewer votes than in 1970. The results mean that the Conservatives’ o v e r - a 11 majority in the 630-seat House of Commons remains unchanged at 27.

The Government will also be cheered by the fact that at both seats opponents of Common Market entry came bottom of the poll with just over 1000 votes at Sutton and 341 at Uxbridge. The Right-wing National Front, campaigning against further immigration, did slightly better at Uxbridge — a constituency bordering an area with a high coloured population. Its candidate took nearly 3000 votes.

The election results will provide no solace for the Labour Party, which apparently failed to persuade voters that it could provide a radical alternative Government to the Conservatives.

Lord George-Brown, a leading figure in the party until its 1970 electoral defeat, said the polls showed that Labour must either change its “present associations and policies or the leaders associated with these must make way for other leaders.”

Hie voting figures for candidates of the three main parties at Uxbridge were: Mr Michael Shersby (Conservative) 14,178; Miss Manuela Sykes (Labour) 13,100; Mr lan Stuart (Liberal) 3650. At Sutton the figures were: Mr Graham Tope (Liberal) 18,328; Mr Neil Macfariane (Conservative) 10,911; Mr David Miller (Labour) 2973.

The Conservatives and their allies now have 325 seats in the House of Commons, Labour has 285 and the Liberals eight. There are also five independents and four non-voting members, three vacancies remaining to be filled.