1976 Cambridge by-election

The 1976 Cambridge by-election of 2 December 1976 was held after Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) David Lane resigned his seat to take up the position of Chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality.^[1] The seat was retained by the Tories in a result that cut the government majority to one seat.^[2]

Candidates

• Michael O'Loughlin had been the Liberal candidate for the same seat in the general elections of 1964, 1966, February 1974 and October 1974. He had not contested the seat at either the 1967 Cambridge by-election, or the 1970 general election. This was his fifth and last candidature for the seat.
• Robert Rhodes James was a noted historian and a former winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize.
• Philip Sargent stood under the title "Science Fiction Looney" in what was probably the first use of the word 'looney' by a prospective Parliamentary candidate, in a move which in part inspired the naming of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party. There was a serious motive behind this apparently frivolous candidature, since it enabled the circulation of election literature opposing the National Front candidate.^[3][4] However, the principal ambition, for which the Party's supporters were willing to finance a parliamentary deposit, was to enter the Guinness Book of Records by polling the lowest number of votes recorded in a parliamentary election. This was such an entertaining idea that over 300 students, confused during the pre-Vacation festivities into thinking they were being supportive, voted in favour of the Party, thus thwarting the ambition, but at a level where the deposit was simultaneously lost.
• Jeremy Wotherspoon was an estate agent and former shop steward for the Transport and General Workers' Union. He had contested Watford for the National Front in the two general elections of 1974.^[5] He was a candidate for the British National Party in the 2009 European election in the South West England constituency.^[6]

Result of the by-election

The results of the by-election were as follows:^[1]

United Kingdom Parliament: Cambridge by-election 1976

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Rhodes James	19,620	51.03	+9.78
	Labour	Martin Smith	9,995	25.99	−10.01
	Liberal	Michael O'Loughlin	7,051	18.34	−2.73
	Independent	James Sharpe	711	1.85	New
	National Front	Jeremy Wotherspoon	700	1.82	New
	Science Fiction Looney	Philip Sargent	374	0.97	New
Majority			9,625	25.03	+19.78
Turnout			38,451
	Conservative hold		Swing

Result of the previous general election

Results from the previous general election were:^[7]

General election October 1974: Cambridge

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Lane	21,790	41.25	+0.66
	Labour	James Curran	19,017	36.0	+3.28
	Liberal	Michael O'Loughlin	11,129	21.07	−5.0
	United Democratic Party	C.J. Curry	885	1.68	New
Majority			2,773	5.25	−2.62
Turnout			52,811	69.55	−9.22
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

1. "1976 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
2. Poll result delights Mrs. Thatcher
3. Railings, Colin; Johnston, Ron; Thrasher, Michael (June 2004). "Equalising Votes but Enabling Bias: The Electoral Impact of the 1977 and 1999 Ward Boundary Reviews in London". Urban Studies. 41 (7): 1367. doi:10.1080/0042098042000214842. ISSN 0042-0980. S2CID 154614987.
4. Alvarez, R. Michael; Kiewiet, D. Roderick; Núñez, Lucas (11 May 2018). "A Taxonomy of Protest Voting". Annual Review of Political Science. 21 (1): 152. doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-050517-120425.
5. "Wotherspoon's election literature". Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2009.
6. "BNP Seeks Euro Vote from Gibraltar". Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
7. UK General Election results October 1974