The

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

of 30 October 1969 was caused by the death of

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

MP Stephen Swingler in February of that year. It was held on the same day as four other by-electionsUK Election Statistics: 1918-2004 RESEARCH PAPER 04/61 28 JULY 2004
, accessed 27 October 2008 (in Glasgow Gorbals,

Islington North Islington North () is a constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1983 by Jeremy Corbyn. He served as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition from 2015 to 2020. Co ...

, Paddington North, and

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

) and the seat was retained by Labour.GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS SINCE 1966
accessed 27 October 2008

Results

Aftermath

Although the Conservatives achieved a 10.7% swing from Labour, John Golding claimed that his victory was a vote of confidence in

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 ...

's Government. Conservative supporters responded by shouting "Rubbish", while their unsuccessful candidate, Nicholas Winterton, stated the result was notice for the Government "to quit - and soon". The other three by-elections in England held on the same day also saw similar large swings to the Conservatives, with Swindon being gained by the latter party.

References

{{By-elections to the 44th UK Parliament Newcastle-under-Lyme by-election Newcastle-under-Lyme by-election By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Staffordshire constituencies Politics of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme 20th century in Staffordshire Newcastle-under-Lyme by-election