1948 Wigan by-election

The Wigan by-election of 4 March 1948 was held after the death of the incumbent Labour MP, William Foster.

The by-election was contested by four candidates: Ronald Williams (Labour), Harold Dowling (Conservative), Thomas Rowlandson (Communist), and Owen L Roberts (King's Cavalier), who was an ex-RAF Pathfinder observer fighting the election 'for the peace and prosperity of the country.'[1]

The result was a hold for the Labour Party, with Williams gaining 59.1% of the vote, in spite of a 6.5% swing to the Conservative Party.

Result of the by-election

Wigan by-election, 1948 [2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Ronald Williams	28,941	59.1	9.1
	Conservative	Harold Dowling	17,466	35.6	3.8
	Communist	Thomas Rowlandson	1,647	3.7	N/A
	King's Cavalier	Owen L Roberts	932	1.6	N/A
Majority			11,475	23.4	12.9
	Labour hold		Swing	6.5

Result of the previous General Election

General election 1945: Wigan[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	William Foster	31,392	68.2	6.9
	Conservative	Evelyn Charles Lacy Hulbert-Powell	14,666	31.8	6.9
Majority			16,726	36.3	13.7
Turnout			46,058	80.4	1.3
	Labour hold		Swing	6.9

References

1. Goole News search The Glasgow Herald Archives
2. "1948 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
3. "Politics Resources". Election 1945. Politics Resources. 5 July 1945. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2011-11-08.

Further reading

• Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd edition ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs