1965 Hove by-election

The 1965 Hove by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Hove held on 22 July 1965.

Vacancy

The by-election was caused by the resignation of Conservative MP Anthony Marlowe. Marlowe had had a heart attack in June 1965. He had been MP here since winning the seat in 1950.

Election history

Hove had been won by the Conservatives at every election since 1950 when the seat was created. The result at the last General election was as follows;

General election 1964: Hove [1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Anthony Marlowe 32,923 68.4 -6.4
Labour Thomas James Marsh 15,214 32.3 +6.4
Majority 17,709 36.8 –12.8
Turnout 48,137 69.6 -2.6
Conservative hold Swing -6.4

Candidates
  • The Conservatives selected 44-year-old former MP Martin Maddan. He had sat for Hitchin, Hertfordshire from 1955-64. He had been defeated at the general election the previous year.
  • Labour re-selected 50-year-old Thomas James Marsh who had stood here at the previous general election when he came second. Marsh was a company secretary and accountant. He had been educated at Worthing High School, West Sussex. He had been a member of Southwick Urban Council since 1948 and of West Sussex County Council from 1952–55 and since 1958. He was a member of the executive committee of the Southern Regional Labour Party.[2]
  • The Liberals selected 43-year-old Oliver Moxon. He had been educated at Gresham's School, Holt. He was an author[1] who was standing for parliament for the first time. The Liberals had not fielded a candidate since 1950 when their candidate polled just 9.7%. Moxon was the brother of actor Timothy Moxon with whom, after the war, he founded the New Torch Theatre in London.
  • An Independent candidate, 64-year-old Max Cossman, put himself forward. He was a Company secretary who had been raised in Austria where he became a graduate in law and economics at Vienna University.[1]

Campaign

Result

It was won by the Conservatives' Martin Maddan. There was a 6.2% swing against the Conservatives;

1965 Hove by-election [1][3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative William Francis Martin Maddan 25,339 62.0 -6.4
Labour Thomas James Marsh 8,387 21.0 -10.6
Liberal Oliver Charles Napier Moxon 6,867 16.7 New
Independent Max Cossman 121 0.3 New
Majority 16,952 41.0 +4.2
Turnout 40,714 58.2 -11.4
Conservative hold Swing +2.1

Aftermath

The result at the 1966 general election;

General election 1966: Hove [1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative William Francis Martin Maddan 28,799 57.2 -4.8
Labour Trevor Williams 12,909 25.7 +4.7
Liberal Oliver Charles Napier Moxon 8,037 16.0 -0.7
Independent Max Cossmann 574 1.1 +0.8
Majority 15,890 31.6 -9.5
Turnout 50,319 72.1 +13.9
Conservative hold Swing -4.7

Moxon contested Brighton Kemptown in 1970[4] Sidcup, against Prime Minister Edward Heath, before moving to Jamaica. Marsh did not stand again.

References
  1. The Times House of Commons, 1966
  2. The Times House of Commons, 1964
  3. "1965 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  4. The Times House of Commons, 1970

See also
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