The 1968 Dudley by-election was a by-election held for the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

of Dudley in Worcestershire on 28 March 1968. It was won by the Conservative Party candidate Donald Williams.

Vacancy

The seat had become vacant when the Labour Member of Parliament (MP), George Wigg had been appointed Chairman of the Horserace Betting Levy Board on 16 November 1967. He had held the seat since the

1945 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgaria ...

and had served as Paymaster General in the Government of

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

. He was also elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Wigg, of the Borough of Dudley.

Result

The result was a clear victory for Williams in what had been a Labour

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinat ...

. It was one of the three Conservative by-election gains from Labour on the same day, the others being at

Acton Acton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Acton Australia * Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie * Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton Canada ...

and Meriden. Williams held the seat until the 1970 general election, when he lost the seat back to the Labour candidate, John Gilbert.

Votes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dudley By-Election, 1968 By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Worcestershire constituencies 1968 in England 1968 elections in the United Kingdom By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in West Midlands (county) constituencies Politics of Dudley 20th century in Worcestershire March 1968 events in the United Kingdom