1956 Walthamstow West by-election
# 1956 Walthamstow West by-election

The Walthamstow West by-election of 1 March 1956 was held after the elevation to the Peerage of former Prime Minister, Labour MP (MP) Clement Attlee.

The seat was safe, having been won by Attlee at the 1955 general election by over 9,000 votes

## Candidates

* Edward Redhead for Labour was a councillor and Alderman
* The Conservatives nominated Richard Hornby, who at the time was a copywriter for JWT
* The Liberal Party chose Oliver Smedley, who in 1955 had helped found the Institute of Economic Affairs
* Perennial candidate Bill Boaks stood as an independent, which was one of his earliest parliamentary candidacies.

## Result of the previous general election

General election 1955: Walthamstow West :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Clement Attlee | 19,327 | 65.73 |
| | Conservative | Richard Hornby | 10,077 | 34.27 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,250 | 31.46 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,404 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

## Result of the by-election

Walthamstow West by-election, 1 March 1956 :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Edward Redhead | 13,388 | 64.68 | -1.05 |
| | Conservative | Richard Hornby | 4,184 | 20.21 | -14.06 |
| | Liberal | Oliver Smedley | 3,037 | 14.67 | New |
| | Independent | Bill Boaks | 89 | 0.43 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,204 | 44.47 | +13.01 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,698 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
