1976 Coventry North West by-election explained

Election Name:1976 Coventry North West by-election
Type:parliamentary
Country:United Kingdom
Seats For Election:Constituency of Coventry North West
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:October 1974 United Kingdom general election
Previous Year:Oct. 1974
Next Election:1979 United Kingdom general election
Next Year:1979
Election Date:4 March 1976
Candidate1:Geoffrey Robinson
Party1:Labour Party (UK)
Popular Vote1:17,118
Percentage1:47.72%
Swing1: 4.14%
Candidate2:Jonathan Guinness
Party2:Conservative Party (UK)
Popular Vote2:13,424
Percentage2:37.42%
Swing2: 6.08%
Candidate3:Alan Leighton
Image3: Lib
Party3:Liberal Party (UK)
Popular Vote3:4,062
Percentage3:11.32%
Swing3: 4.34%
MP
Before Election:Maurice Edelman
Before Party:Labour Party (UK)
After Election:Geoffrey Robinson
After Party:Labour Party (UK)

The Coventry North West by-election, in Coventry on 4 March 1976, was held after the death of Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Maurice Edelman. A safe Labour seat, it was won by Geoffrey Robinson, who retained the seat until 2019.

Party performance

The by-election represented the first outing for the National Party; it had recently split from the National Front and both parties ran candidates in the election. Although both polled poorly, it set a trend for a split far right vote which was replicated in the 1989 Vauxhall by-election and elsewhere.

The Liberal Party vote fell in this by-election, a development that former leader Jo Grimond blamed in part on scandals surrounding incumbent Jeremy Thorpe's homosexuality. Grimond suggested that the result and the allegations meant that Thorpe "must think of stepping down".[1] Thorpe stood down as Liberal leader two months later.

Notes and References

  1. Michael McManus, Jo Grimond: Towards the Sound of Gunfire, Edinburgh, 2001, p. 325