1956 Blaydon by-election

The Blaydon byelection of 2 February 1956 was a by-election held in the British House of Commons constituency of Blaydon in the North East of England.

It was caused by the death on 3 November 1955 of William Whiteley, the sitting Labour Party Member of Parliament for the constituency, who had first been elected in 1922 and had represented it ever since with the exception of 1931 to 1935. Labour Party candidate Robert Woof held the seat with little change in the majority.

Candidates

Labour selected Robert Woof, who was a miner and official with the National Union of Mineworkers; Woof, who was 44, had been a member of Durham County Council since 1947. The Conservative Party candidate was John Reay-Smith, a 40-year-old solicitor who had been a member of Bishop Auckland Urban District Council and fought the constituency in the 1955 general election.

Results

Robert Woof won with a majority of 10,714, and went on to hold it for the next 23 years before retiring at the 1979 general election.

Votes
Blaydon by-election, 1956[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Robert Woof 18,791 69.94 +3.47
Conservative John Reay-Smith 8,077 30.06 -3.47
Majority 10,714 39.88 +6.94
Turnout 26,868
Labour hold Swing -3.4

See also

References
  1. "1956 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  • "The Times House of Commons Supplement" Issued June 1957.
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