1965 Salisbury by-election

The 1965 Salisbury by-election was a by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Salisbury in Wiltshire on 4 February 1965. It was won by the Conservative Party candidate Michael Hamilton.

Vacancy

The seat had become vacant when the 58-year-old sitting Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) John Morrison had been ennobled as Baron Margadale. He had won the seat at a by-election in 1942.

The Conservative candidate was 46-year-old Michael Hamilton.

The Labour Party selected the National Union of Bank Employees official Leif Mills, and the Liberal Party fielded Hugh Capstick; both had contested the seat at the general election in October 1964. Maj. Horace Trevor-Cox, a former Conservative MP, stood as Independent Conservative candidate.

Michael Hamilton of the Conservative Party returned to the House of Commons as an MP after he lost his Wellingborough seat in the General election in 1964.

Salisbury by-election, February 1965^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Hamilton	17,599	48.2	−0.1
	Labour	Leif Mills	13,660	37.4	+3.0
	Liberal	Hugh Capstick	4,699	12.9	−4.4
	Ind. Conservative	Horace Trevor-Cox	533	1.5	New
Majority			3,939	10.8	−3.1
Turnout			36,491
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election October 1964: Salisbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Morrison	20,071	48.3	−4.5
	Labour	Leif A Mills	14,311	34.4	+1.3
	Liberal	Hugh Capstick	7,176	17.3	+3.2
Majority			5,760	13.9	−5.8
Turnout			41,558	78.6	+0.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

^ "1965 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2015.