A Wordsmith story
In the spring of 1968, there were four parliamentary by-elections caused by deaths and resignations. The three Midlands constituencies became a test or poll for the popularity of the government which since 1964 had been under the leadership of Harold Wilson. The fourth election was in Acton, west London.
This was the heyday of the two-party politics, and other than the Liberal Party, which many saw as a fence-sitting middle party, the Tories and Labour were the main contenders in every election.
To a certain extent, but not entirely, that is the case in 2026. With devolution new options have widened the choice for voters and new options such as the Green Party have given voters more opportunity to express their democratic responsibilities. The Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru have also changed the political landscape in the 21st Century.
Back in 1968 this would have been unimaginable. The Communist Party had no elected representatives, and they were significant players in the political landscape, particularly within the popular protest movements of the 1960’s. Not so now. The population and its socio/gender makeup have changed how and who we vote for completely.
What hasn’t seemed to change is how we watch elections, especially by-elections for how the way people are feeling about how they are being governed.
Hence the headline in the March 1968 edition of the Coventry Evening Telegraph. “Is it a spring of discontent?”. This was the copy editor’s headline for Peter Carver’s article about his tour and survey of the three Midland constituencies that made-up the focal point for the nation’s view of the Labour government.
Peter echoes a lot about the current political landscape at the opening of his article:
“It is not just the record of the Labour Government which will be on trial when polling takes place in four by-elections on Thursday.
The voting will serve as a rough guide to the standing of the Parties, but it will also indicate the extent to which the public have become frustrated with and disinterested in politics.”
Peter believed that, from his observations of the three constituencies that he toured, that the Wilson government had betrayed the voter’s interests and ideals.
Nothing new there then. Fifty-eight years later, emerging political parties play on that very point.
The three constituencies in question were Meriden, Warwick and Dudley. Here are the results of the previous election that was held in 1966:
Harold Wilson led the Labour Party to victory in 1964, but he had a working majority of only four MPs. He decided to call a snap election in 1966 which was a landslide victory for his government.
Interestingly it was the last general election in which the voting age was 21 years. In 1969 legislation was passed to reduce this to 18 years in time for the 1970 election. I was 23 years old when I voted for the very first time in a general election, and definitely not alone in feeling aggrieved that I had to wait so long before being able to vote in a Parliamentary election.
For Peter Carver, the significance of the three Midland constituencies was that they contained a representative cross section of the population, including as they did miners, farmers, car workers, office executives and a variety of industry workers within their boundaries. Meriden seemed to be highly representative of that voting mix and it typified the see-sawing nature of the voting between Conservatives and Labour.
It was the death of Christopher Rowland MP who had been elected in 1964 that was triggering the Meriden by-election. He had a majority of 4600. Alarmingly for the new Labour candidate, Roderick McFarquhar was having to face the prospect of many Labour abstentions mainly because of the closure of Arley colliery, affecting the livelihoods of 1200 men and their families, on the same day as the election.
Peter’s analysis of the three constituencies at that point in time was as good as any by a news reporter that we might read in the national daily newspapers today. He was 28 and in the early stages of his Parliamentary reporting career. He had detailed knowledge of all the main players in the three by-elections as well as the key organizers behind them.
This was the era of public hustings where candidates were able to prove their mettle by receiving and responding to lively debates and insults. In the Dudley by election, the Labour candidate John Gilbert –
“had to dodge a packet of American dog biscuits hurled at the platform by an irate listener to illustrate some obscure point about imports.”
The Warwick by-election was called because of the death of Sir John Hobson a former Tory attorney general. The new conservative candidate was Dudley Smith who had the distinction of being the first person to write a biography of Harold Wilson. Meanwhile the Labour candidate Ray Carter, an electrical engineer, who once played for Coventry City football club, was making his first attempt to get into parliament.
So, Peter asked, who will be the Midlands 3 new MPs come Election Day? He thought that Mr. Smith would be disappointed if he did not get a five-figure majority at Warwick. Mr. Speed, despite frantic Labor efforts, should cruise home with a three-figure majority in Meriden and the Labour man in Dudley should provide a consolation prize to Harold Wilson.
“But we can’t be sure just how deep the national disillusionment with our politicians goes. If the apathy is as serious as has been suggested, we could all be in for a surprise.”
So, what did happen in the 1968 Midland by-elections? The results are in.
Dudley
| Donald Williams | Conservative | 28016 |
| John Gilbert | Labour | 16360 |
| Derek Bird | Liberal | 3809 |
Meriden
| Keith Speed | Conservative | 33344 |
| Roderick McFarquhar | Labour | 18081 |
Warwick
| Dudley Smith | Conservative | 28914 |
| Raymond Carter | Labour | 6992 |
| Anthony Butcher | Liberal | 6415 |
The Conservatives wiped the board, including Acton which was won by Kenneth Baker. Two years later, in the General Election, the Labour Government lost to the Conservatives, and the see-sawing of two-party politics continued, as it does today.
Coventry Evening Telegraph, March 1968, courtesy of British Newspaper Archive
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