The 1972 Rochdale by-election, was a parliamentary by-election held on 26 October 1972 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, ...

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

. The by-election took place during the 1970s Liberal revival, in one of the few Labour-held seats in which the Liberal Party was in second place. This was the first Liberal gain during the 1970–1974 Parliament.

Previous MP

The seat had become vacant when the constituency's Labour Member of Parliament (MP), John "Jack" McCann (4 December 1910 – 16 July 1972), died. McCann first contested the Rochdale seat for Parliament in 1955 without success. He was first elected in a 1958 by-election following the death of the sitting

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

MP Wentworth Schofield. In that by-election the Liberal candidate had finished second, during the late 1950s Liberal revival that culminated in the victory at the

1958 Torrington by-election The 1958 Torrington by-election, in Devon, England, was the first gain by the British Liberal Party at a by-election since Holland with Boston in 1929. Background The election was caused by the accession of George Lambert, National Liberal and ...

, the next month. The Liberals had finished second to McCann in three out of the four subsequent general elections, including that of 1970.

Candidates

Four candidates were nominated. The list below is set out in descending order of the number of votes received at the by-election. The Liberal Party candidate was

Cyril Smith Sir Cyril Richard Smith (28 June 1928 – 3 September 2010) was a prominent British politician who after his death was revealed to have been a prolific serial sex offender against children. A member of the Liberal Party, he was Member of ...

(28 June 1928 – 3 September 2010). He was a prominent local politician, who had been a Labour Mayor of the town in 1966–67. Smith joined the Liberal Party in 1967. He had finished second in the seat at the

1970 United Kingdom general election The 1970 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 18 June 1970. It resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, which defeated the governing Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The Liberal Party ...

. Smith won the by-election and retained the constituency until he retired from Parliament in 1992. He was the Liberal Chief Whip 1975–76. Representing the Labour Party was Lawrence Cunliffe (born 25 March 1929). He again contested Rochdale in the February 1974 general election. Cunliffe was elected MP for

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

in 1979 and sat for the seat until he retired in 2001. The Conservative candidate was

David Trippier Sir David Austin Trippier, RD, DL (born 15 May 1946) is a British Conservative Party politician and author. Early life Trippier was born on 15 May 1946. He was educated at Bury Grammar School. Political career Trippier fought Rochdale in a ...

, born in 1946. He was a stockbroker and Rochdale councillor. He contested

Oldham West Oldham West was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Oldham in the north-west of Greater Manchester. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament ...

in both 1974 general elections. Trippier became the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Rossendale from 1979 to 1983, and for

Rossendale and Darwen Rossendale and Darwen is a constituency in Lancashire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Sir Jake Berry, the former Chairman of the Conservative Party. Boundaries 1983 to 1997: The Borough of Rossendal ...

from 1983 until he lost his seat in 1992. Jim Merrick, the chairman of the British Campaign to Stop Immigration, was from Bradford and issued leaflets headed "

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is right".

Votes

References

* ''British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973'', compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Research Services 1983) * ''Dod's Parliamentary Companion 1979: New Parliamenrt Edition'', edited by J. Berwick Smith (Dod's Parliamentary Companion 1979) * ''Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume IV 1945-1979'', edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1981) {{By-elections to the 45th UK Parliament Rochdale by-election Rochdale by-election Rochdale by-election 1970s in Lancashire Elections in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Greater Manchester constituencies By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Lancashire constituencies

Previous MP

Candidates

Votes

See also

References