By-election to Conservatives

Press, 29 May 1982, Page 8

By-election to Conservatives

NZPA-Reuter London The British Conservative Party won a parliamentary by-election at Beaconsfield, outside London yesterday. The poll had been awaited as an indication of support for the Government’s handling of the Falklands crisis. The Conservative candidate won 23,049 votes for a majority of more than 13.000. Th’ majority was down, however, on the 1979 General Election figure when the Conservatives won with a lead of 21,000 votes, and the effect of the Falklands crisis was unclear. National opinion polls have shown a big swing to the Conservatives as a result of

Margaret Thatcher’s stand on the Falklands issue. The alliance of Liberals and Social Democrats won 9996 votes yesterday. The main Opposition Labour Party candidate won 3886. The election at Beconsfield, a Conservative seat since 1847, was caused by the death of the local member of Parliament. Although the Conservative majority was cut. its percentage of the votes remained just over 61 per cent, almost the same as in 1979. The alliance of Liberals and Social Democrats won 26 per cent of the vote, capturing votes previously cast for the Labour Party, whose percentage was down from 20 to 10 per cent.