1965 Hove by-election

The Hove by-election, 1965 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

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.
• The Liberals selected 43-year-old Oliver Moxon. He had been educated at Gresham's School, Holt. He was an author 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.

Result

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

Hove by-election, 1965

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

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 Sidcup, against Prime Minister Edward Heath, before moving to Jamaica. Marsh did not stand again.

See also

• List of United Kingdom by-elections