1976 Coventry North West by-election

Template:Short description Template:Use British English The Coventry North West by-election, in Coventry on 4 March 1976, was held after the death of Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Maurice Edelman. A safe Labour seat, it was won by Geoffrey Robinson, who retained the seat until 2019.

Party performance

The by-election represented the first outing for the National Party; it had recently split from the National Front and both parties ran candidates in the election. Although both polled poorly, it set a trend for a split far right vote which was replicated in the 1989 Vauxhall by-election and elsewhere.

The Liberal Party vote fell in this by-election, a development that former leader Jo Grimond blamed in part on scandals surrounding incumbent Jeremy Thorpe's homosexuality. Grimond suggested that the result and the allegations meant that Thorpe "must think of stepping down". Thorpe stood down as Liberal leader two months later.

Results

Coventry North West, 1976

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Geoffrey Robinson	17,118	47.72
		Jonathan Guinness	13,424	37.42
		Alan Leighton	4,062	11.32
		Andrew Fountaine	986	2.75
		John Kingsley Read	208	0.60
		Thomas Keen	40	0.11
	Logic Party	William Dunmore	33	0.09
Majority			3,694	10.30
Turnout			35,871
	hold		Swing