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It is fifty years since the Orpington by-election on 14 March in which a Conservative majority of 14,760 in the 1959 general election was transformed into a Liberal majority of 7,855. It was the first and only Liberal by-election gain in the 1959-1964 Parliament. Also they held Montgomeryshire. But from November 1960 there were a number of by-elections in which the Liberals polled more than 30 percent of the vote.

The result of the High Peak by-election on 16 March 1961 was Conservative 37.4%, Labour 32.1%, Liberal 30.5%. Compared with the general election the Liberal vote increased from 8,138 [20.0%] to 10,674 [30.5%] which was a much smaller increase than in Orpington. So what if Mr. D.I. Wrigley was elected Liberal MP for High Peak.

Other near Liberal victories in by-elections:
20 April 1961: Paisley - Labour majority 4.0% over Liberal, Conservative vote fell from 42.7% to 13.2%.
13 March 1962: Blackpool North - Conservative majority 3.0% over Liberal.
6 June 1962: Derbyshire West - Conservative majority 3.6% over Liberal.
22 November 1962: Chippenham - Conservative majority 4.4% over Liberal.
21 March 1963: Colne Valley - Labour maority 4.9% over Liberal.

So what if the Liberals gained seven seats in by-elections between March 1961 and March 1963, and kept to close to, or just below, their by-election votes in the October 1964 general election.
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