1961 High Peak by-election

The High Peak by-election was held on 16 March 1961. It was held due to the incumbent Conservative, Hugh Molson, being granted a Life Peerage. It was won by the Conservative David Walder.

Candidates

The local Liberal association selected 31-year-old Dennis Wrigley as their candidate. He was an architect.[1] He was educated at Manchester Grammar School and Manchester Regional School of Architecture. He was President of the Lancashire, Cheshire and North Western Young Liberal Federation. He had contested Oldham East at the 1959 general election[2] where he polled 15% of the vote and came third.

Result

High Peak by-election, 1961[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Walder	13,069	37.4	−8.6
	Labour	Wilfred McCormack Halsall	11,201	32.1	−1.9
	Liberal	Dennis Ian Wrigley	10,674	30.5	+10.5
Majority			1,868	5.3	−6.8
Turnout			34,944
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

1. The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1959
2. The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1964
3. "1961 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2015.