1960 University of Oxford Chancellor election explained

Country:United Kingdom
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:University of Oxford Chancellor election, 1933
Previous Year:1933
Election Date:3 March 1960
Next Election:University of Oxford Chancellor election, 1987
Next Year:1987
Image1:Harold Macmillan (cropped).jpg
Candidate1:Harold Macmillan
Party1:Conservative Party (UK)
Popular Vote1:1,976
Percentage1:53.8%
Candidate2:Sir Oliver Franks
Party2:Independent (politician)
Popular Vote2:1,697
Percentage2:46.2%
Chancellor
Before Election:Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax
After Election:Harold Macmillan

The 1960 University of Oxford election for the position of Chancellor was called upon the death of the incumbent Chancellor, Lord Halifax, on 23 December 1959. It was the first election for Oxford Chancellor to be contested since 1925.

Electorate

The electorate consisted of all members of the University holding the rank of Master of Arts, of which there were around 30,000 at the time. Votes had to be cast in person at Oxford in academic dress. The election was by first past the post. To stand a candidate had to be nominated by two electors.

Candidates

At first, the university authorities came up with only one candidate, the wealthy Chairman of Lloyds Bank and former British Ambassador to Washington Sir Oliver Franks.

However, Hugh Trevor-Roper, installed less than three years earlier as Regius Professor of Modern History by the Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, proposed the Prime Minister as an alternative candidate. Trevor-Roper orchestrated the Macmillan campaign, writing to graduates to encourage them to travel to Oxford to vote for Macmillan.

Result

The results were as follows:

CandidateVotes%
Harold Macmillan1,97653.8
Sir Oliver Franks1,69746.2
Turnout3,673

See also

References