1972 Sutton and Cheam by-election
# 1972 Sutton and Cheam by-election

The Sutton and Cheam by-election of 7 December 1972 was held after Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Richard Sharples was appointed Governor of Bermuda. In a defeat for Edward Heath's government the seat was won by Liberal candidate Graham Tope, who defeated the Conservative candidate Neil Macfarlane. This was the second Liberal gain during the 1970–1974 Parliament, during which they gained five seats overall. Tope went on to lose the seat to Macfarlane at the February 1974 election.

## Results

1972 Sutton and Cheam by-election :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Liberal | Graham Tope | 18,328 | 53.6 | +39.0 |
| | Conservative | Neil Macfarlane | 10,911 | 31.9 | -26.2 |
| | Labour | David Miller | 2,937 | 8.6 | -18.7 |
| | Anti-Common Market | Chris Frere-Smith | 1,332 | 3.9 | New |
| | National Independence | Edgar Scruby | 660 | 1.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,417 | 21.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 34,194 | 56.3 | -11.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +32.6 | |
