1968 Caerphilly by-election
# 1968 Caerphilly by-election

The Caerphilly by-election of 15 July 1968 was held after the death of Labour MP Ness Edwards.

The seat was very safe, having been won by Labour at the 1966 United Kingdom general election by over 21,000 votes but Plaid Cymru gave Labour a serious fright in this by-election and came close to winning the seat on a huge swing.

## Candidates

* Labour chose Alfred Evans to defend their seat, who was a councillor.
* Nationalist party Plaid Cymru stood Philip Williams, who at the time was teaching at University College, Aberystwyth and was mentored by John DA Howell.
* The Conservatives chose Robert Williams.
* Peter Sadler was the choice of the Liberal Party association.

## Result of the previous general election

General election 1966: Caerphilly :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Ness Edwards | 26,330 | 74.3 | +2.2 |
| | Conservative | Ronald J Maddocks | 5,182 | 14.6 | -2.3 |
| | Plaid Cymru | John D A Howell | 3,949 | 11.1 | +0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 21,148 | 59.7 | +4.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,461 | 76.8 | -1.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 46,180 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

## Result of the by-election

1968 Caerphilly by-election :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Alfred Evans | 16,148 | 45.7 | -28.6 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Phil Williams | 14,274 | 40.4 | +29.3 |
| | Conservative | Robert Williams | 3,687 | 10.4 | -4.2 |
| | Liberal | Peter Sadler | 1,257 | 3.5 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,874 | 5.3 | -54.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,366 | 75.9 | -0.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 46,578 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
