On 1 March 1979 a

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 ...

was held for the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

constituency of

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

. It was won by the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

candidate

David Waddington David Charles Waddington, Baron Waddington, (2 August 1929 – 23 February 2017) was a British politician and barrister. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons from 1968 to 1974 a ...

Vacancy

The seat had become vacant when the

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 in ...

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 o ...

(MP),

David Walder Alan David Walder (13 November 1928 – 26 October 1978) was a British Conservative Party politician. Born in St Pancras, London, Walder was educated at Latymer School and Christ Church, Oxford. He was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in ...

had died at the age of 49 on 26 October 1978. He had held the seat since the 1970 general election, having previously been MP for High Peak in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

.February 1974 general election results
at Richard Kimber's political science resources

Candidates

The Conservative candidate was 49-year-old

, a barrister who had been MP for

Nelson and Colne Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

from 1968 until his defeat at the October 1974 general election. The Labour Party candidate was Lindsay Sutton, and the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

s fielded Frank Wilson.

Result

The result was a clear victory for Waddington, with a massively increased majority of 36.6% of the votes. The Labour vote fell by a few percent, but the Liberal share of the vote collapsed to 6.6% from its 20.8% high in October 1974. The Liberal candidate also lost their deposit. Waddington held the seat until its abolition for the 1983 general election, when he was returned for the new

Ribble Valley Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status within the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The total population of the non-metropolitan district at the 2011 Census was 57,132. Its council is based in Clitheroe. ...

constituency. He went on to become

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national s ...

and

Leader of the House of Lords The leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The post is also the leader of the majority party in the House of Lords who acts as ...

Votes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clitheroe By-Election, 1979 1979 elections in the United Kingdom 1979 in England March 1979 events in the United Kingdom 1970s in Lancashire Clitheroe Politics of Ribble Valley By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Lancashire constituencies

Vacancy

Candidates

Result

Votes

See also

References