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. It was one of the three Conservative by-election gains from Labour on the same day, the others being at 1968 Acton by-election, Acton and 1968 Meriden by-election, Meriden.
Williams held the seat until the 1970 United Kingdom general election, 1970 general election, when he lost the seat back to the Labour candidate, John Gilbert, Baron Gilbert, 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