My Recollections
I recall that my father, Royle Drew, was interested in politics throughout his lifetime. In the sixties and seventies, he was active in the Liberal party. He contested a number of elections for them, including the 1970 general election, see Chapter 112.
I don’t know if he remained a member in later life. I suspect not. One way of earning a talking to was to say that the Liberal Democrats were basically the same party as the former Liberals! Clearly, he did not think they were.
To be fair, you could get similar talkings to on a wide range of other topics including referring to Aviva rather than Norwich Union or referring to Nottingham Forest as “Notts Forest”! By way of explanation, my father worked all his life for Norwich Union and presumably did not like the name change to Aviva. He also argued that while people in the city of Nottingham might support Nottingham Forest, people in the wider county of Nottinghamshire supported Notts County so only that team merited the term Notts!
Local Recall
At the time that I started collating information on my father’s involvement in politics and elections, it was possible to access an online Eastern Daily Press (EDP) archive called Local Recall and this proved to be a rich source of information of the kind I was looking for. However, access to that database was summarily discontinued in March 2023. While it was possible to access old copies of local papers through the archive held at Norfolk Heritage Centre at Norwich Library, it was not possible to search this archive meaning that it was much harder to find information of the kind I was interested in.
Newspapers.com
Relatively recently, I discovered that it is possible to access archives of both the EDP and the Eastern Evening News (EEN) through newspapers.com. These archives are searchable so I thought I would revisit this topic to see what additional information I might gather from those archives. This section pulls together information I had found previously, see Chapters 97 and 112, along with new information from those archives. It is organised roughly in chronological order.
Other Mentions
My father, Royle Drew, is mentioned fairly frequently in these archives. He is relatively easy to find not least because of his unusual and distinctive first name. While many of the mentions do relate to his political and electoral activities. other things are also mentioned including family milestones and his later involvement in both amateur dramatics and spiritualism.
Specifically, in February 1972, the local press noted when dad and 11 others became magistrates.
Active in the Liberal Party
While the local press understandably often focused on my father’s unsuccessful attempts to be elected, they also documented some of his activities and achievements within the Liberal Party itself.
Chairman of Central Norfolk Liberal Association
In August 1969, the Central Norfolk Liberal Association was re-formed as the government had decided not to abolish the constituency prior to the 1970 general election. Previously, a decision had been taken to merge it with North Norfolk Liberal Association. At the meeting to re-form the association, there were discussions about finding a parliamentary candidate and an agent and raising funds. It was also agreed to field candidates in local elections where possible. Dad was elected the association’s chairman. Others elected were Mr D Tooley as vice-chairman, Mrs Smith as secretary and Mr F Bright as treasurer.
There was also discussion over a new playing field in Sprowston in Sparhawk Avenue. Apparently, this was controversial because the landowner was offering to give two acres of land for a playingfield in exchange for permission to develop just over four acres for housing development. Apparently, a parish meeting had voted against the proposal but the parish council then voted to accept the offer. This meeting of the Liberal Association concluded that, while the parish council might have acted within the letter of the law, “the whole exercise was deplorably immoral and totally undemocratic“. I am not sure exactly how the matter was resolved but the 4½ acre Sparhawk Park opened in Sprowston in 1976.
Treasurer of Norwich Liberal Association
In March 1972, dad was elected treasurer of the Norwich Liberal Association. Others elected were Mr David O’Neill as chairman and Mrs Elizabeth Frew and Mr Chris Curtis as secretaries for Norwich South and Norwich North respectively.
Liberal Party Council
In December 1972, dad was elected, with Roger Hubbard, to represent the Eastern Region on the Liberal Party Council.
Local Elections in 1965
As far as I know, dad first stood for office in Hellesdon in May 1965 contesting both rural district council (RDC) and parish council elections, see Chapter 97. On 10 May 1965, grandad noted in his diary that dad stood for Hellesdon Parish Council.
Rural District Council Elections
According to a news article published the previous month, the RDC elections in Hellesdon were unusual on a number of counts. First, of 12 parishes with elections, only Hellesdon and two others (Brandiston and Little Witchingham and Felthorpe and Haveringland) had contested elections. Of those, only in Hellesdon was the election being contested on party lines. In that election, dad stood without party affiliation “there are people who do not feel that party politics ought to play any part in local elections… in this election I am an independent.“
Parish Council Elections
That article also identified that there were only three contested parish council elections, in Coltishall, Drayton and Hellesdon. Hellesdon was the most contested seat with 26 nominations for only 15 seats. Not only was this number of nominations for parish council unusual then, it would be most unusual now. In my own experience, it is difficult to get people to take on the role of parish councillor, meaning it is often hard to get enough candidates to fill vacancies. The only exception is when there is a contentious local issue, e.g. related to planning.
Not Elected
The next day, on 11 May 1965, grandad remarked in his diary that dad did not get elected. He made the comment “400 odd votes”. Initially, I didn’t know if that is what dad got or was the margin. It turns out it was the former.
Table of Results
| Urban and District Council | Parish Council |
| A E Cleghorn (C) 797 R J Spraggins (Lab) 738 Mrs H M Votier (C) 690 Mrs O Haseltine (Lab) 688 M F P Howes (C) 628 G E Mansfield (C) 627 R Drew (Ind) 402 The top four (in bold) were elected. Dad’s result in italics | A E Cleghorn 858 R J Spraggins 763 R J F Laws 755 G E Mansfield 718 Mrs O Haseltine 710 A W Palgrave 701 M F P Howes 693 R S Evans 668 J F Neve 663 E C Westwood 658 B F Huson 654 P A Bell 647 C J Roberts 638 Mrs M H Allard 636 A G Moore 620 R W Martin 609 B Scrivener 581 T E Turner 564 J Neale 556 W E Bell 556 P J A Gowen 524 A J Clarke 464 H S N Bullock 446 R Drew 438 E A Lambert 407 J C Harpley 406 The top 15 (in bold) were elected. Dad’s result in italics |
Notes on Councillors and Candidates
A E Cleghorn
Mr A E Cleghorn represented the Conservatives and topped the poll in both district and parish council elections. He appears to have been a successful rally driver in the fifties and he presented a safe driving trophy named after him in the sixties and seventies. Known for having one arm, he ran a number of businesses including a public works contractor and a property-owning company. He represented Hellesdon on district and parish councils from at least 1959 until his death, aged 66, in 1974. From 1960, he was also a county councillor for West St Faiths. He was a keen Norwich City supporter.
R J Spraggins
R J Spraggins represented Labour and came second in the poll in both district and parish council elections. In 1952, he was Chairman of the Norfolk Federation of Labour Parties and it appears he was already on Hellesdon Parish Council at this point. In 1975, he was chairman of the Broadland health committee. I have not found any more details of him after that date.
Mrs H M Votier
Mrs H M Votier represented the Conservatives. She appears to have stood only in the district council elections where she finished third in the poll. I think she was probably Hilda May Votier who I have come across elsewhere as the wife of Leonard Votier, who had died in April 1961. They ran Mascot coaches together, see Chapter 110, Their daughter, Jill Howard, has written a history of Mascot coaches and the Votier family. Hilda May Votier was first nominated for the Rural District Council in 1962 and she served on that council into the early seventies. She was also active in the Royal British Legion. She died in December 1976 aged 72.
Mrs O Haseltine
Mrs Olive Haseltine represented Labour in both district and parish council elections. She finished fourth in the district council election and fifth in the parish council election gaining a seat in each case. Interestingly perhaps, she finished 60 votes ahead of Conservative G E Mansfield in the district council election but eight votes behind in the parish council election. She was a member of both councils in the fifties and sixties continuing on Broadland District Council after local government reorganisation. Active in the community, she was governor of three schools and was involved in the Hellesdon Players, Hellesdon Friendship Club and the Royal British Legion. She died in 1995 aged 92.
M F P Howes
M F P Howes represented the Conservatives in both district and parish council elections. He finished fifth in the district council election missing out on a seat by 60 votes. However, although seventh in the parish council election he gained a seat. He appears to have stood in Crome Ward in Norwich City Council elections in 1956, although he lost by 676 votes to 879. In 1965, he was elected Chairman of the Hellesdon Conservative Association.
G E Mansfield
G E Mansfield represented the Conservatives in both district and parish council elections. He finished sixth in the district council election missing out on a seat by 61 votes. However, he was fourth in the parish council election and gained a seat. He served on the parish council from the fifties into the seventies. He was returned unopposed to the district council in 1961 following the death of Leonard Votier.
R J F Laws
R J F Laws finished third in the parish council election and gained a seat. In 1960-61, he was the parish council chairman. He was still contesting parish council elections in 1976. Unlike other candidates, he did not appear to have a party affiliation. He was also active in the British Legion, including serving as President of the Hellesdon branch in the nineties.
A W Palgrave
A W Palgrave finished sixth in the parish council election and gained a seat. He had worked as a construction engineer. Also, he was active in the Church of England including in Hellesdon Church of England Men’s Society. He was elected to the district council in 1971 defeating sitting councillor Mrs Hilda Votier by 13 votes. However, he sadly died the following year, in 1972, creating a vacancy on the district council which was contested by Conservative nominee Mrs Frances Ward and Mrs Hilda Votier.
R S Evans
R S Evans finished eighth in the parish council election and gained a seat. He served on the parish council in the late sixties at least and chaired the council in 1965, having been its vice-Chairman in the late fifties. He resigned from the council in 1979 when he moved out of the area.
J F Neve
J F Neve finished ninth in the parish council election and gained a seat. He had also been elected to that council in 1962. He appears to have worked as district manager of Watneys Innkeepers and was also President of the Watney Mann club. In the fifties, he seems to have been the secretary of Broadland Angling Society. He was an active writer of letters to the local press on varied topics including dog fouling and Norwich airport.
E C Westwood
Eric Charles Westwood finished tenth in the parish council election and gained a seat. Along with R J Spraggins, he was part of a committee formed to survey street lighting in Hellesdon in 1952. He was chairman of the parish council from at least 1953 to 1959 when he stepped down from the role. Also, he appears to have worked for the County Council as a sampling officer/inspector of weights and measures. He died in 1970 aged 60.
B F Huson
B F Huson finished 11th in the parish council election and gained a seat. He continued to contest the parish council until 1976 at least and, in that election, unlike other candidates, had no declared party affiliation. In 1972, he became chairman of the parish council. In addition to his political activities, he was active in the Scout movement and was variously described as leader trainer of the Norfolk Scout Association and Assistant District Commissioner for Norwich North.
P A Bell
P A Bell finished 12th in the parish council election and gained a seat. Apart from this mention of them in relation to this election, I have not found anything else. This may be because he died in 1965. I found the death of a P A Bell registered in Q4 of that year.
C J Roberts
C J Roberts finished 13th in the parish council election and gained a seat. It appears that he was involved in contesting parish council elections from at least 1959 to 1976, where he stood as a Conservative candidate. He was also treasurer for the Hellesdon community centre management committee.
Mrs M H Allard
Mrs Margaret H Allard finished 14th in the parish council election and gained a seat. She also successfully contested the parish council election in 1968 and 1971. There was a Mr M H Allard who was an organist and was associated with Gresham’s school.
A G Moore
A G Moore finished 15th in the parish council election and gained the final available seat by just 11 votes. Apart from this mention of them in relation to this election, I have not found anything else.
Unsuccessful Candidates
In terms of other unsuccessful candidates in the parish council elections, T E Turner went on to be elected to the parish council in 1968. In the early seventies, he wrote letters to the press on very varied topics including his children’s missing tortoises and the loss of school places in North Walsham.
W E Bell contested parish council elections in other years, being elected in 1962, and also unsuccessfully contested the district council election for Labour in 1973. He appears to have been secretary for Toc H.
Patrick J A Gowen wrote to the press on a number of topics including planned developments of Norwich airport, loss of rights and original freedoms and cruise missiles. It seems he became a magistrate in 1966.
As early as 1957, A J Clarke was referred to as a former member of the parish council. J C Harpley also contested the parish council elections unsuccessfully in 1962. It seems he did join the parish council in 1964.
Boundary Changes
Shortly after the 1965 local elections, dad was one of several people who wrote to the press about proposed boundary changes.
Boundary Commission Report
It seems that a report from the Local Government Boundary Commission proposed, among other changes, including nearly all “fringe” parishes in Norwich. Given objections from the parishes, it seemed likely that there would be a local enquiry conducted by an inspector from the Ministry of Housing and Local Government.
Fred Self’s Letter
It seems that dad was responding to a letter to the EEN by Councillor Fred Self on the day after the elections, that is 11 May 1965. I believe he had been returned unopposed for Labour to Norwich City Council representing Hellesdon. His letter supported the boundary changes on the basis that rate charges were higher in the county than in the city. He also seemed to be arguing that Hellesdon would be better-served by “effective ward associations” than by the parish council, particularly where people had to cast 15 votes among 26 candidates. I confess to not following the detail of his letter and also to being confused by the fact that Councillor Self already seemed to represent Hellesdon in the city council!
Dad’s Letter
In dad’s letter, he questioned why Councillor Self had nominated a Labour candidate who was against the proposed boundary changes. He then made the point that this candidate was the only one who fared worse than dad. I don’t follow this as there seem to have been two candidates who obtained fewer votes than dad did in the parish council elections.
Dad accepted that it was confusing to elect all 15 parish councillors at the same time and suggested that five might retire in rotation. He was against replacing the parish council with ward associations.
Dad also questioned the assertion that rates were higher in the county than in the city noting that the reverse was in fact the case. He closed by asking why people chose to live in outlying areas and wondered why Councillor Self himself lived in such an area but chose to represent a different area. As mentioned, I don’t really understand this as I think Councillor Self was representing Hellesdon on the city council.
Other Letters
In other letters on this topic, Mrs Olive Haseltine, who was elected to both the rural district council and the parish council for Labour, noted her opposition to the changes. She favoured a merger of Norwich and Norfolk councils and warned that losing more prosperous “fringe” areas to the city would prove costly to the remaining areas of St Faiths and Aylsham RDC.
Roy Chaplin argued that the results of the parish council elections, in which 12 of the 15 elected, an increase of four, were Conservatives who opposed the changes, indicated that the electorate of Hellesdon as a whole opposed the changes. He advised Councillor Self either to assist Labour’s “sagging fortunes” in the parish or to move within the existing city boundaries.
Don Jones wrote in favour of the proposed changes but recognised that he was in a minority. He complained of poor road and path surfaces and poor drainage despite rising rates. He considered those rates robbery and that they gave him “nothing in return“. Also, he hoped that where he lived would be first in line for improvements when they moved into the city.
General Election 1966
On 31 March 1966, there was a general election. Mum noted that she went to help dad with the election at Wymondham. On 28 March 1966, grandad noted that dad had gone to Wymondham to help the Liberals. I think Wymondham was in the constituency of Norfolk South and dad went there to help because there were no Liberal candidates in central Norfolk or either of the Norwich constituencies. Robert L Crouch, an economics lecturer at the University of Essex, was the Liberal candidate in South Norfolk in 1966. He finished third with 4,079 votes behind Geoffrey B L Bennett of Labour on 16,849 and John Hill of the Conservatives on 16,968. Geoffrey Bennett, who, in 1964, had contested the Central Norfolk constituency but finished second behind Ian Gilmour, had to resign as MP in 1969 for health reasons.
Grandad noted that they were in Central Norfolk, a constituency won by Conservative Ian Gilmour, see Chapter 97. He gained 27,935 votes as compared to Bryan Davies of Labour with 23,529. Bryan Davies was later MP for Enfield North from 1974 to 1979 and MP for Oldham Central and Royton from 1992 to 1997. He became a life peer in 1997.
Local Elections in 1968
It seems that there were a number of local elections in May 1968 with district and parish council elections held on Monday 6 May and city council elections on Thursday 9 May.
Rural District Councils
On the 6th, grandad noted that he and grandma went to vote for the rural council. Grandad was referring to the rural district council (RDC). All RDCs and urban district councils (UDCs) were abolished in 1974. On the 7th, grandma and grandad looked after Liz while mum went to Hellesdon to count votes.
Dad Contested District and Parish Council Elections in Hellesdon
Again, dad contested both district and parish council elections in Hellesdon. Candidates in the district council election, in addition to dad, included sitting councillors A E Cleghorn, Mrs Olive Haseltine, R J Spraggins and Mrs H M Votier. other candidates were J C F Clarke, A Mackay and E S Wilson. There were four seats available.
In the parish council elections, there were 21 candidates for 15 seats. In addition to dad, they were Mrs M H Allard, W E Bell, J C F Clarke, A E Cleghorn, R J Debbage, R S Evans, B C Harper, Mrs Olive Haseltine, B F Huson, R J F Laws, A Mackay, G E Mansfield, J P Nonney, A W Palgrave, A J V Reeves, C J Roberts, R J Spraggins, T E Turner, Mrs F M Ward and E S Wilson.
Links are provided for candidates already mentioned. Details of others are presented below.
Contested RDC Elections
A local news article commented that Hellesdon was only one of two parishes to have contested RDC elections, the other being Drayton. It also explained how boundary changes had affected the constituency.
Results
Grandad noted that dad was again not elected. Based on results in the local press, he again finished last in the district election with 375 votes. He was not elected in parish council elections.
One notable feature of the district council election was that Mrs Olive Haseltine, a sitting councillor, was not re-elected. Rather, A Mackay was elected in her place.
While no numbers were given for votes in the parish council election, I suspect that elected candidates are listed in the order of votes received meaning that A E Cleghorn topped the poll in both 1965 and 1968. If this is correct, R J Spraggins fell from second to 13th, R J F Laws rose from third to second, G E Mansfield fell from fourth to tenth, A W Palgrave rose from sixth to fourth, R S Evans fell from eighth to 11th, B F Huson rose from 11th to ninth, C J Roberts rose from 13th to seventh and Mrs M H Allard from 14th to fifth.
Not only was Olive Haseltine not elected to the district council, it appears that she failed to win a seat on the parish council despite having finished fifth in the poll in 1965. One possible explanation for this was her affiliation to Labour who did really badly in 1968 elections. Councillors who did not stand for re-election included P A Bell, M F P Howes, A G Moore, J F Neve and E C Westwood
J C F Clarke
Mr J C F Clarke contested both district and parish council elections in Hellesdon in 1968. However, he failed to be elected in either case. In the district council election, he received 376 votes one more vote than dad, although his name there is recorded as F F C Clarke! It seems that he contested a district council election in Thorpe in 1964 but also failed to be elected. I have not found any more details about him.
A Mackay
Angus Mackay, recorded variously in the press as Macay or McKay, finished third in the district council election in 1968 gaining a seat. He also secured a seat on the parish council in the same elections and was re-elected in 1971. However, in 1971, he was not re-nominated for the district council. From at least 1974 to 1976, he was Chairman of Hellesdon Parish Council. It appears that he was a Conservative politician. In 1981, he won the County Council seat of St Faiths and Aylsham (4) defeating E S Wilson by 203 votes. In the 1985 county council elections, he was the incumbent councillor for Hellesdon but lost to Liberal/Alliance candidate P Balcombe.
E S Wilson
E S Wilson contested both district and parish council elections in Hellesdon in 1968. However, he failed to be elected in either case. In the district council election, he received 388 votes.
He was a Labour politician and, in 1976, wrote to the local press as Chairman of the North Norfolk Constituency Labour Party challenging apathy in local elections. In 1979 and 1980, he contested the Broadland District Council ward for Labour Hellesdon South-East. In 1979, there were three candidates for two seats. However, the two Conservative candidates, S F A Merchant and F M Ward were elected with 1,305 and 1,335 votes respectively. Mr Wilson received 800 votes. In 1980, there was an election for one seat and, on this occasion, he was successful. It seems he had been an official in the Union of Post Office Workers and was later a magistrate and was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM). He also contested County Council seats unsuccessfully, including Sheringham in 1973 and St Faiths and Aylsham (4) in 1981.
R J Debbage
R J Debbage was elected to Hellesdon Parish Council in 1968. I have not found out more about him.
B C Harper
Bernard Charles Harper was elected to Hellesdon Parish Council in 1968 and again in 1971. It seems that he was a Conservative politician who, in 1974, was elected as vice-chairman of the parish council. He also was going to contest the Hellesdon Parish Council elections in April 1976. Sadly, he died and the elections were delayed until June. The parish council held a minute’s silence for the late Mr B C Harper at their meeting in May 1976. He was 61 at the time of his death. He worked for Eastern Electricity from 1931 until his death, latterly as manager of Norwich central service. Also, he was vice-president of the Hellesdon Horticultural Society, a governor of Kinsale Avenue School and a freemason. He was a keen photographer and gardener.
A J V Reeves
A J V Reeves was elected to Hellesdon Parish Council in 1968 and again in 1971. I have not found out more about him.
Mrs F M Ward
Mrs F M Ward was elected to Hellesdon Parish Council in 1968 and again in 1973. In 1971, she contested the Hellesdon district council election apparently as a Labour party candidate but was not returned missing out by 79 votes. However, when a casual vacancy occurred in 1972, she was returned unooposed. In the 1976 district council election, she was listed as a Conservative candidate. On this occasion, she was elected. In 1982, she contested the Hellesdon South-East district council election as an incumbent councillor. She was elected with 601 votes, a majority of 297 over the next candidate for the Lib/SDP Alliance.
J P Nooney
J P Nooney contested the 1968 and 1971 Hellesdon Parish Council elections but was not elected on either occasion. He also contested the 1976 parish council election which was delayed from April to June following the death of parish council vice-chairman Bernard Harper.
Liberal Meeting in Felixstowe
In October 1969, grandad noted that dad had gone to Felixstowe for the weekend to a Liberal meeting, see Chapter 97. Grandad seems to have noted this because dad did not come with us for tea on the Sunday afternoon. I confess I don’t know what this meeting was. It could have been a meeting about adoption as a parliamentary candidate but this would have been unlikely to have taken the whole weekend. Perhaps it was a regional conference as a follow-up to the national conference, which had been held in Brighton in September.
Norwich North Nomination
In the run-up to the 1970 general election, dad was shortlisted for the Norwich North constituency for the Liberals. The vacancy arose, in October 1969, because David Trotter had decided not to fight the next election as he was leaving East Anglia.
David Trotter
David Trotter was adopted as Liberal candidate for Norwich North in 1967. However, there was controversy over this with Norwich North Liberals, described in the press as a breakaway group. refusing to back him saying that putting him up had been the idea of Norwich South, university students and a representative of the Eastern Counties Federation, Colin Sowerby.
David Trotter was, at the time of his adoption, a 24-year old Cambridge graduate who was about to take up a post as history teacher at Ely High School.
Right – news cutting with photo of David Trotter at the time of his adoption as parliamentary candidate for Norwich North in 1967
A Shortlist of Three
In November 1969, dad was on a shortlist of three to become the Liberal candidate for Norwich North. The other two were Henry Sparham and Malcolm Scott.
Henry Sparham
Henry Sparham was a councillor for the Central Ward in Lowestoft. He had previously been chairman of the National League of Young Liberals, secretary of the Lowestoft Divisional Liberal Association and member of the national executive. In 1950, it seems he was the candidate for Bury St Edmunds. Apparently, he was a Minister in the Wesleyan Reform Church. Sadly, he collapsed and died aged 61 in September 1974.
Malcolm Scott
Malcolm Scott was a 22-year old hotelier from Yarmouth. He was a part-time agent having previously been secretary-organiser for the Yarmouth Division Liberal Party. In 1974, he was twice the Liberal candidate for South Norfolk. He finished third on both occasions with votes of 19,115 and 14,687 respectively. In 1987, he contested South West Norfolk for the Liberal (Alliance) and finished second ahead of Labour with 12,083. In 1992, he contested Yarmouth for the Liberal Democrats and again finished third with a vote of 7,225. He was a councillor in Yarmouth in the nineties. He had unsuccessfully contested Northgate Ward in 1986. However, he held a seat in Lothingland from 1991 to 1995 before losing it to Labour’s Bernard Williamson.
Candidate Selected
Although dad was shortlisted for the Norwich North seat, he was not selected. Rather, a selection committee from the Norwich North Liberal Association chose Malcolm Scott.
Withdrawal
However, at the time of the 1970 election, Norwich North did not have Liberal candidate, despite the fact that Malcolm Scott had been selected earlier. It seems that he quit amid an ongoing dispute between the Liberal Party in Norwich North and the party more broadly. Essentially, Bob Edwards and Charles Moore had resigned as chairman and secretary respectively of the Norwich Liberal Association along with about 15 other members. It seems those resigning were unhappy that the Federation had formed a Norwich South Liberal Association without consulting executive officers of Norwich Liberal Association.
This issue came against a backdrop of controversy and contention in the Norwich Liberal Association. In 1966, a group calling itself the Norwich North Liberal Association broke away and sought affiliation with the Eastern Counties Liberal Federation. Those forming the group accused the Norwich Association of “stagnation“. Oddly, it seems the breakaway group was intending to field candidates in both Norwich constituencies in the next general election. While the Eastern Counties Federation’s response was “wait and see“, they confirmed that the Norwich Association was up to date with its payments something denied by the breakaway group.
General Election in 1970
Harold Wilson had been Prime Minister from 1964, see Chapter 86. He won elections in October 1964 and again in March 1966. However, on 18 May 1970, grandad noted that he went to the Queen to ask her to dissolve parliament ahead of an election on 18 June.
My Father Stood as Liberal Candidate for Central Norfolk
One of the things that was notable about this election, at least from the perspective of our family, was that dad stood as the Liberal candidate for the seat of Central Norfolk.
He was standing against sitting MP, Conservative, Ian Gilmour and Charles R Coyne for Labour. I have strong memories of this election campaign because dad had loudspeakers attached to the car and he used to sing as part of his campaigning! Grandad noted a bit about the campaigning activities for the election. On 3 June 1970, grandma folded election leaflets for dad and put them into envelopes. A few days later, on the 8th, grandad fitted loudspeakers to his car as he was “out on the warpath canvassing”. On the 16th, grandma babysat while mum and dad went out canvassing. On the day, grandma and grandad went to Drayton village hall to vote. They voted for dad although they usually voted Conservative.
The Candidates
The other candidates in the election were incumbent MP Ian Gilmour for the Conservatives and Charles R Coyne for Labour.
Ian Gilmour
Ian Gilmour was described as having a legal and army background and had been both editor and proprietor of “The Spectator”. He was educated at Eton and Oxford and served with the Grenadier Guards from 1944 to 1947. He was the sitting MP having first been elected in 1962, see Chapter 97 and had just published a book called “The Body Politic“.
At the time of his first election, he received 27,935 votes which was 4,406 more than the Labour candidate, Bryan Davies. Ian Gilmour served as MP for Central Norfolk until the constituency was abolished in 1974. Then, he became MP for Chesham and Amersham and served there until 1992. He was Minister for Defence Procurement from 1971 to 1974 and was also Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal from 1979 to 1981. He was a staunch critic of Margaret Thatcher and was expelled from the Conservative Party in 1999 for supporting the Pro-Euro Conservative Party. It appears that he may have been a member of the Liberal Democrats from 2001 to 2007.
Charles R Coyne
Fighting his first parliamentary election, Charles Coyne had been selected as Labour candidate for Central Norfolk in 1968. Born in Hull, at the time of the election, he was living in Middlesex and working as a management consultant having previously been a research chemist and a market researcher. He had degrees in chemistry and economics and had served in the Fleet Air Arm.
The Campaign
Dad actively campaigned in the election in what was described as a “fight on the village greens” as most of the constituency consisted of the rural villages around Norwich. As there were three candidates, the local press referred to it as a “three-cornered fight“. Dad emphasised in his campaigning the fact that he was the only local candidate and he focused his initial efforts in Hellesdon. At his adoption meeting, on 4 June 1970, he referred to the Conservatives and Labour as “the terrible twins” and challenged Ian Gilmour to report on what he had achieved since being elected as MP. Dad also participated in joint meetings with other Liberal candidates including Basil Goldstone, who was contesting South Norfolk, and Lesley Parker, who was contesting Norwich South. It seems that dad’s campaign operated out of 25 Waverley Road, a headquarters shared with Lesley Parker as this was her house.
Wives’ Roles
An EDP article on 12 June 1970 examined the role of the candidates’ wives in the election campaign although it did this under a sexist headline about “glamour” coming into fight, something that was reinforced by, and possibly based on, a comment attributed to the Labour candidate! It did note that both the wives of Ian Gilmour and Charles Coyne would be involved in campaigning. On the other hand, mum was quoted as saying she would not be campaigning, as she was not a “political animal” and she would be focused on ongoing paper work. She did not give dad a particularly ringing endorsement saying she agreed with him on “most” of his policies! She did however say he believed what he was saying and he would go all out for his beliefs.
The article also covered a dispute between Ian Gilmour and Charles Coyne over the accuracy of figures on inflation and wage rises.
Campaign Issues
A number of issues arose or were highlighted during the election campaign.
New Votes
One of these was that there were an estimated 11-12,000 new votes available in Central Norfolk. The Labour agent was confident that these voters could allow them to close the previous majority. He regarded the introduction of a Liberal candidate as a “tragedy” and warned that votes for him would be wasted. My father considered that Labour’s confidence that they would win the new votes was misplaced. Finally, the Conservative agent was confident that the majority of the new votes would be Tory.
Key Topics
Key campaign issues included industry for Norfolk, agriculture, education, unemployment and the record of the Labour government.
On 4 June 1970, the Labour candidate was quoted as saying that the small farmer was not owed a guaranteed living. Rather, small farmers would need to adapt, for example, by forming co-operatives. The issue appeared to revolve around so-called “deficiency payments” paid to farmers to allow food to be sold at cheaper world prices. The Conservatives favoured changing from this system to a system of import levies, a change which was needed to bring the UK in line with Europe and to facilitate Common Market entry. The Liberal policy was to retain deficiency payments for most products but to introduce levies on some, particularly beef and cereals, to allow Common Market entry.
Other topics covered included the need for a motorway link to East Anglia, the development of industry in Norfolk and whether any of this required better macroeconomic management.
Postal Voting
There were specific issues related to postal votes during this election. These included delays in delivering election materials and the fact that, at this time, it was not possible to get a postal vote just because you would be on holiday at the time of the election. While that changed in 1985, this was considered to be an issue in 1970 because the election had been called for a time when people had already booked to be on holiday. Both Ian Gilmour and my father complained that the rules were unfair and could affect their vote. Charles Coyne, however, thought that the issue would not make much difference.
Election Day
Campaigning continued right up to and including election day which was 18 June 1970. Ian Gilmour emphasised that he was asking voters to return him to the House of Commons for the fourth time. Charles Coyne was seeking to boost turnout by saying “if you don’t vote today, don’t grumble tomorrow“. Dad urged people not to automatically expect him to finish third. Apparently evidence of “all the stops… being pulled out” was that dad was deploying a second loudspeaker!
On the day itself, the Eastern Evening News devoted much of its front page to the election. It was thought that good weather across the region was likely to boost turnout and this was thought likely to benefit Labour. In Central Norfolk, the paper focused on two-year old Lee Day who received a ballot card in error! His grandparents thought it would be humorous to take him to see if he could vote and seemed surprised that the tellers at the polling station “were very serious and didn’t take it in the joking way we meant“. The front page also featured three opinion polls published that day all of which incorrectly predicted a Labour majority.
Results
Nationally, the Conservatives surprisingly won with 330 seats, Labour on 288 and the Liberals on six. As leader of the largest party, Edward Heath became Prime Minister, see Chapter 112.
In the region as a whole, Labour only won one seat, Norwich North. The Conservatives did very well capturing North Norfolk, Norwich South, Yarmouth and King’s Lynn. However, in 1973, they did lose the Isle of Ely by-election to Liberal Clement Freud.
Locally, grandad noted that Ian Gilmour got 32,921 votes with Charles Coyne getting 19,030. This gave him a much increased majority of 13,891. Dad got 6,172 votes, which was 11% of all votes cast. Clearly, dad was disappointed but was quoted as saying that this was what democracy was all about.
He lost his deposit although grandad noted that the Liberal party paid for that. At the time, the deposit was £150 and this was lost if a candidate failed to secure 12.5% of the vote. In 1985, the rules were changed and, although the amount paid for a deposit is higher, the money is only lost if a candidate fails to secure 5% of the vote.
Election Costs
At the end of July 1970, there was an interesting piece in the paper about the cost of the election focusing on the six Norfolk constituencies excluding Norwich. The biggest expenditure item across the board was printing and stationery. Dad incurred the lowest total cost at only £260 4s 6d while the highest cost was by Cyril Shaw, Labour candidate in South Norfolk, who spent £1,269 8s 8d, more than five times what dad spent.
Also in July 1970, a meeting of the Central Norfolk Liberal Association launched an appeal for at least £150 for the purpose of contesting a general election. At that meeting, dad was elected secretary with F D Stanger elected chairman, J E Wyett treasurer and M Taylor assistant secretary,
Moving from Hellesdon
In December 1970, we moved from Middletons Lane in Hellesdon to Waverley Road in Norwich, see Chapter 102. As a result, dad’s political focus shifted from Hellesdon to Norwich itself.
City Council elections in 1972
In May 1972, dad stood in city council elections in Bowthorpe ward. I am not exactly sure of the boundaries of Bowthorpe ward at that time. However, in 1976, Bowthorpe ward was renamed Henderson ward with the former Earlham ward becoming Bowthorpe ward. Dad was actually living in Eaton ward at that time but there was an established Liberal candidate in that constituency, Lesley Parker, who also lived in Waverley Road just a few doors up from the house we had moved into.
Other Liberal Candidates
Dad was one of eight Liberal candidates in the city council elections as compared to five the previous year and three before that. The other Liberal candidates were Brian A Leverett (Earlham), Lesley Parker (Eaton), Gale Carruthers (Heigham), Chris Curtis (Hellesdon), Wendy Curtis (Mousehold), Verity Gibson (Nelson) and Dave O’Neill (University).
In Heigham and Mousehold wards, the Liberal candidate was the only opponent to Labour. News reports commented that this meant that Liberals were contesting half the council seats, a move that was described as “ambitious“. Issues they were campaigning on included enlightened planning for Norwich, weekly “street surgeries” and bus fare concessions for pensioners. Dad was quoted as saying that both Labour and the Conservatives were in for a shock as many people were disillusioned with the two established parties. Lesley Parker was quoted as saying that even one Liberal councillor would be a big influence. Dad commented that any Liberal councillor would be able to vote according to his or her convictions.
Brian A Leverett (Earlham)
Brian Leverett had moved to Norwich from Yarmouth some seven years earlier. He worked as a taxi driver for Beeline. He had been an active part of the Liberal campaign for concessionary bus fares.
Possible Court Cases
In trying to find out more about him, I failed to find evidence of further political or electoral activity. I did, however, find a number of court cases against someone called Brian Leverett.
In 1970, a Brian Leverett was dismissed from the Milk Marketing Board when a sum of £62 14s 2d was found to be missing.
In 1966, while working as an ice cream man, a Brian Leverett was fined 30s for failing to keep current records. However, his address was given as College Road. Nevertheless, I think it is likely that it was the same person as I found other articles confirming that Brian Leverett from Stevenson Road worked as an ice cream man in the sixties and seventies. For example, in 1967, he was fined a total of £3 for selling ice cream from a van in Southwold in contravention of local laws.
Most seriously, in November 1969, a Brian Leverett of Stevenson Road was put on probation for three years for indecently assaulting an 11-year old girl. If this was indeed the same person he would have still been on probation at the time of the election. This may have not been his first offence. In 1961, a bus conductor from Kessingland named Brian Arthur Leverett indecently assaulted two girls aged 10 and 13 respectively.
While I am not absolutely sure all cases relate to him, I believe they do. However, I would have thought that the Liberals had some kind of vetting process to ensure that people with such convictions, including particularly if they were still on probation, did not stand as their candidates.
Lesley Parker (Eaton)
Lesley Parker had contested Norwich South in the 1970 general election and she would contest it again in 1974. In 1970, she and dad had shared headquarters in her house in Waverley Road. In this election, she was described as an energetic worker in community activities including on the Norfolk Women’s Housing Council, Friends of Norwich Churches and Norfolk Association for Mental Health. She gained an MA from Oxford and was on the staff of Harvard University for ten years. She had contested Eaton Ward twice previously. In 1975, she chaired a meeting at the UEA at which Clement Freud spoke.
Gale Carruthers (Heigham)
Gale Carruthers originates from Norfolk having spent her childhood in Sheringham. She gained a degree in Russian Regional Studies from London University and spent a year in Moscow with the Russian Embassy. She moved to Norwich four years earlier. At the time of the election, she was vice-chairman of the Norwich Liberal Association. She contested Town Close ward in 1970. By 1976, she was chairman of Leeway, a refuge for “battered wives“. In the eighties, she taught Russian at Bowthorpe School and, in the nineties, was teaching Russian at Wensum Lodge and was involved in sending aid to pensioners in St Petersburg. It seems she spent a further three months in Russia in 1987. It appears that she may have left the Liberals for Labour as she was elected chairman of the Town Close branch of the Norwich Labour Party in 1980.
Chris Curtis (Hellesdon)
Chris Curtis had been born in Norwich and was educated at Thorpe Grammar School. His wife Wendy was Liberal candidate in Mousehold ward. He was working as an order clerk for Jarrolds. The previous year, he had contested the ward finishing second. He was organiser and treasurer of Norwich Liberal Association. In 1973, he contested Thorpe ward in new county and city council elections. In June 1974, he moved to North Cornwall to take up a post with MP John Pardoe. However, in only six months, he was sacked on the basis of a personality clash with branch officers.
Wendy Curtis (Mousehold)
Born in Norwich, she lived in Trowse until her marriage to Chris Curtis the Liberal candidate for Hellesdon ward in this election. Before she had children, she worked in the shoe trade. She was a supporter of the Liberal campaign for concessionary bus fares. I have not found out anything else about her.
Verity Gibson (Nelson)
Verity Gibson had an MA from Edinburgh and a Diploma in Education. She taught in a number of schools both in the UK and in the United States. Her community interests include the welfare of children in hospital. She was honorary secretary of the Norwich Liberal Association.
I remember Verity Gibson. She and dad were friends, see Chapter 99, and I recall going to her house on a number of occasions with dad. From memory, she lived off Newmarket Road at 12 Albert Terrace. I recall that she had two children. One of them was a daughter called Ruth who had a serious, possibly congenital illness. I understand that Verity was the first wife of Ian Gibson. He later became Labour MP for Norwich North. At that time, I think, dad described him as an International Socialist.
From the Wikipedia account, it seems Ian Gibson was a member of the Socialist Workers Party before joining the Labour Party in 1983. Wikipedia indeed notes that his first wife was called Verity. However, that indicated that she was a social worker rather than a teacher as mentioned in the 1972 election blurb. I found some details of a Verity Gibson working as a social worker with deaf and blind people. Wikipedia also notes that Ian and Verity had two daughters – Dominique and Ruth. Ruth sadly died in 1993. She was 26 having been born on 11 December 1967.
Dave O’Neill (University)
Dave O’Neill came to Norwich in 1968 to study mathematics and physics at UEA. He was working as a civil servant so was not permitted to take an active part in national politics. However, he was very active at the local level including campaigning for concessionary bus fares. In 1973, he contested the Thorpe ward of Norwich City Council. At the time of the 1972 elections, he was chairman of the Norwich Liberal Association. However, he retired in 1975 and became treasurer.
Dad was friends with Dave O’Neill and his wife Jean who was also active in Liberal politics. I recall their names but do not remember them clearly. I found some details of Dave O’Neill, see Chapter 99, including that he was district councillor in Bungay from at least the eighties to 2024. Dave stood as a candidate for the Liberal-SDP Alliance in 1982.
Rival Candidates
Also standing in Bowthorpe ward were incumbent Labour councillor Keith Mann and Conservative candidate Tom Crowe.
Keith Mann
Keith Mann had been the Labour councillor for Bowthorpe for three years and had been a member of finance, policy and establishment committees. He was vice-chairman of the establishment committee. He was secretary of the Bowthorpe Ward Labour Association. Also, he worked for Eastern Electricity as a clerk and was secretary of the Norfolk Electricity Branch of the National and Local Government Officers’ Association (NALGO). After the election, he became the vice-chairman of the finance committee. However, he resigned from the council in 1973 as he left Norwich. He moved to Liverpool as district organiser for NALGO.
Tom Crowe
Tom Crowe was described as a well-known antiquarian bookseller with a business at 77 St Giles’ Street. He had been president of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association and had chaired the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers’ Congress in London. He also chaired the St Giles and District Residential and Business Association. Apparently, he had represented North Wales at tennis and badminton.
Results
Nationally, these were the last borough and district council elections to be held prior to the structural changes introduced that year. While Labour did well, they were deprived of overall control of many councils because several Conservative aldermen remained in post.
In Norwich, Labour gained three seats from the Conservatives, Catton, Mancroft and Thorpe. This was despite an overall swing of 6% to the Conservatives. The Conservatives held seats in Eaton, Nelson, St Stephen’s and Town Close.
Although the Liberals did not win any seats, they noted that they increased their vote particularly in wards where Conservative candidates did not stand. Liberal candidates polled between 134 and 481 votes with the lowest being recorded by Brian Leverett in Earlham and the highest being achieved by Verity Gibson in Nelson. Percentage of votes ranged from 6.4% in Earlham to 21.1% for Gale Carruthers in Heigham. Wendy Curtis also captured almost 20% of the vote presumably also benefiting from being in a ward with no Conservative candidate. Verity Gibson polled 20.3% of the vote despite competing against both Conservative and Labour. All candidates finished bottom of their poll with the exception of Chris Curtis who finished second in Hellesdon.
Dad finished third in Bowthorpe ward with 368 votes. Keith Mann of Labour was elected with 1,302 votes while Tom Crowe of the Conservatives received 633 votes. Dad received almost one sixth of votes (16.0%).
County Council Elections in 1973
Elections for county councils were held on 12 April 1973 with the elected councils coming into operation on 1 April 1974. I found an article about the elections in the Lynn advertiser which noted that voting had been slow. On Polling Day, grandma and grandad went with Barbara Carpenter to Drayton to vote. Grandad noted helping dad to fit loudspeakers to his car. He noted that dad was a candidate but that he did not get elected.
Dad Stood in Eaton
In March 1973, it was announced that he was standing in County Council elections in Norwich’s Eaton ward. Of 16 constituencies, there were Liberal candidates in only four wards. In addition to dad, James Barnett contested Bowthorpe ward, John Wharry contested Nelson ward, and Chris Curtis contested Thorpe ward.
Other Liberal Candidates
In addition to dad, there were three other Liberal candidates. Details of Chris Curtis have been given earlier.
James S Barnett (Bowthorpe)
James (Sid) Barnett had lived in Bowthorpe ward for 21 years. He worked as a senior technician in the Post Office engineering division. He was an active member of the Post Office Engineering Union and was vice-chairman of the Norwich South Liberal Association. His interests include social welfare and industrial affairs. I have not found out more about him.
John Wharry (Nelson)
John Wharry had been born in Larne in Northern Ireland and worked in various parts of Britain before coming to Norwich four years earlier. He worked as a cartographic surveyor for Ordnance Survey. He was an active trade unionist and chairman of the Norwich South Liberal Association. In 1979, he was agent for Philip Moore who stood in the Norwich North constituency, see Chapter 124.
In 1977 and 1984, he stood in the Town Close ward in the city council elections. He was elected to various posts in different Liberal associations including secretary of Norwich South Liberal Association in 1975, organiser for the re-formed Norwich Liberal Association in 1977 and treasurer for Town Close Liberals in 1985. Sadly, John Wharry died in 1986 aged only 48.
Conflict in Norwich Liberal Association
In researching John Wharry, I found evidence of conflict within the Norwich Liberal Association later than that previously documented prior to the 1970 general election. For example, in 1979, three candidates in Coslany Ward were standing under the Liberal Focus Team banner as independent Liberals.
Rival Candidates
Also standing in Eaton ward were Christopher R Smith for Labour and A J Michael Daws for the Conservatives.
Christopher R Smith
Christopher Smith was an economics lecturer at UEA. He was already a Labour city councillor serving on finance, health and social services committees. He was chairman of the Norwich branch of the Child Poverty Action Group. In 1974, he was the chairman of Norwich Council’s finance committee. However, in 1975, he left Norwich to take up the position of economist with the Metropolitan Council of Tyne and Wear.
Adrian John Michael Daws
Michael Daws had been a Conservative city councillor since 1965. He was chairman of the housing committee from 1968 to 1970 and served on other committees including policy, finance, establishment, airport and parks. He worked in insurance and was chairman of the Norwich North Conservative Association. It seems he was active in politics until at least 1992 when he unsuccessfully contested the St Stephen ward in city council elections.
Results
Nationally, Labour did well in the election. By Friday morning, with 13 councils still to declare, Labour had won 13 including London, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Nottinghamshire, the Conservatives had won 11 and independents six. Ten councils had no single party in overall control.
Norfolk was one of those counties won by the Conservatives with 52 of 83 seats. Labour won 27 and independents four. In Norwich, Labour won 12 wards and Conservatives four (Eaton, Nelson, St Stephen and Town Close).
In Eaton ward, dad gained 560 votes and finished third. Michael Daws won for the Conservatives with 1,673 votes. Christopher Smith was second for Labour with 1,044 votes. Dad secured 17.1% of the votes cast. In terms of other Liberal candidates in Norwich, James Barnett received 372 votes (18.6%), John Wharry received 563 votes (25.3%) and Chris Curtis received 654 votes (30.0%). While dad and James Barnett finished third in their respective polls, John Wharry and Chris Curtis both finished second. John Wharry pushed Labour into third by 23 votes while Chris Curtis was ahead of the Conservatives by 41 votes.
District Council
That same year, in June 1973, dad also contested the district council elections in Bowthorpe ward. Because of the reorganisation of local government, all seats were being contested meaning three seats were available in each ward.
Other Liberal Candidates
In addition to dad, there were nine other Liberal candidates. Two, James (Sid) Barnett and Irene Picketts also stood in Bowthorpe ward. Other candidates included Jean O’Neill in Heigham; Gale Carruthers, Lesley Parker and John Wharry, all in Nelson; and Chris Curtis, Philip Moore and Dave O’Neill in Thorpe. Where candidates’ details are given elsewhere, links are provided. For the others, their details are below.
The Liberals concentrated their efforts in three wards, Bowthorpe, Nelson and Thorpe with three candidates in each. They also fielded one candidate in Heigham, ensuring that the Labour candidates were not elected unopposed.
Irene Picketts
Irene Picketts had lived in Norwich for 15 years. For 11 of those, she had housed homeless people, including unmarried mothers, referred to her by social and voluntary organisations. I have not found out anything else about her.
Jean O’Neill
The loan Liberal candidate in Heigham ward, Jean O’Neill was standing against three Labour candidates. She came to Norwich in 1968 and was working for the Norfolk and Norwich Institute for Medical Education at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. She was married to Dave O’Neill, Liberal candidate in Thorpe ward.
Philip Moore
Philip Moore had only moved to Norwich the previous year. He worked for Norfolk County Council as a senior technician in the highways department. He later went on to become a Liberal councillor and Lord Mayor of Norwich, see Chapter 124.
Rival Candidates
Also contesting the three seats in Bowthorpe were three candidates from each of Labour and the Conservatives. For the Conservatives, they were Olwen Hook, Roy Goldsmith and Graham Joyce while for Labour, they were Dick Seabrook, Roderick Quinn and Richard Phelan.
Olwen Hook
Olwen Hook had twice previously contested Bowthorpe ward. She was a member of Nelson ward committee. She was said to be actively interested in Club 50 for the housebound and the meals on wheels service. I am not entirely sure what Club 50 was. In 1976, she contested Thorpe ward and, at that time, was described as secretary to a local firm of glazing contractors. Then in 1977, she became the treasurer of Hellesdon Hospital Voluntary Service. In 1979, she contested Henderson Ward for the Conservatives. At that time, she was a member of the community health council and governor of four schools and manager of four more. Apparently, she had represented Norwich at both tennis and table tennis. It appears that she died in 1997 having been born in 1915.
Roy Goldsmith
At the time of the election, Roy Goldsmith was a company secretary and area manager. He had been chairman of the local group of Young Conservatives from 1966 to 1968. I have not found out more about him.
Graham Joyce
Graham Joyce was an electrical fitter and the chairman of the Young Conservatives. Apart from his involvement in Young Conservatives, I have not found out more about him.
Dick Seabrook
I have encountered Dick Seabrook before as he was Lord Mayor of Norwich in 1972-73, see Chapter 124. The election blurb noted this and that he had also been National President of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers. Apparently, his appointment to Lord Mayor was controversial partly because he was not a member of the city council at the time and partly because of past associations with the Communist Party. He was a member of that party for 25 years but left in 1956. In 1977, he was chairman of the Citizen Advice Bureaux in East Anglia. In 1978, he did not stand for council re-election on health grounds. Sadly, he died in 1986 aged 75.
Roderick Quinn
Roderick Quinn was already a councillor for Bowthorpe and was secretary of the ward Labour association. It seems he continued as a councillor until 1989 at least. In 1980, angered at Eastern Counties Bus Company’s plans to reduce services, he argued that the council should take over and run the service themselves. In 1981, he was the council’s property chairman. Apparently, in 1982, at a planning meeting, he swiped at the chairman, Douglas Chinnery’s head, with some papers when a vote was taken before he thought a point he had raised had been properly considered! He then stormed out and accused the chairman of not acting democratically.
Richard Phelan
Richard Phelan worked as a chartered electrical engineer. He had been a city councillor for five years and had recently been elected to the county council. He was chairman of the city council’s planning committee for at least 20 years from 1974 to 1994. By 1995, he was chairman of the board of governors for Earlham School.
A Letter to the Press
Letters to the press were part and parcel of political campaigning. During this election, Jean O’Neill and the Liberal candidates in Bowthorpe, including dad, wrote to the press on the topics of politics, policies and independence. Their focus was on the city council’s clearance plan for the area of Sandringham, an area in Norwich.
Apparently, this related to plans to demolish houses which fell below a “five point standard” (a fixed bath or shower; a wash-hand basin; a hot and cold water supply at the hub of the home; an indoor toilet; and a proper food store/larder). While the number in Norwich was said to total 7,500, there were plans to improve or demolish 600 in 1973, of which 166 were in Sandringham. The letter complained that people in those houses had been given the go-ahead to spend money improving and modernising their houses on the basis that they would not be demolished for 30 years or more. It also complained about money spent on other schemes in Hay Hill and West Pottergate. The letter concluded that it was Liberal policy to improve rather than demolish houses.
Results
Overall, these elections were more positive for the Conservatives than the two sets of local elections held earlier that year. At the start of the day after the election, local press reported that the Conservatives were on track to win the highest number of seats.
However, in Norwich, Labour were considered to have “walked it” winning 37 of the 48 seats compared to 11 for the Conservatives. Conservatives were elected in Eaton (3), Nelson (3) and Town Close (3). In St Stephen, two Conservative and one Labour candidate were returned. The third Conservative candidate only polled 29 votes less than the Labour candidate who was returned but finished fifth.
In Bowthorpe, the three Labour candidates were returned with the three Liberal candidates finishing seventh, eighth and ninth. Of the three, Irene Picketts secured 463 votes, dad 446 votes and Sam Barnett 433 votes. In Heigham ward, Jean O’Neill finished fourth out of four with 433 votes. In Nelson ward, the three Liberal candidates finished fourth (Gale Carruthers, 554 votes), fifth (Lesley Parker, 546 votes) and sixth (John Wharry, 526 votes) ahead of the three Labour candidates. Similarly, in Thorpe ward, the three Liberal candidates finished fourth (Chris Curtis, 705 votes), fifth (Philip Moore, 619 votes) and sixth (Dave O’Neill, 578 votes) ahead of the three Conservative candidates. Overall, the Liberals gained 21.9% of votes in Bowthorpe, 26.9% in Nelson and 29.5% in Thorpe.
Local Elections in 1976
Local elections took place on 6 May 1976.
Mum Voted
Mum noted that she voted in the morning although she did not specify what the elections were but she did note the three candidates she voted for. Oddly perhaps, she voted for one Conservative (Griffiths) and two Liberal candidates both called O’Neill. I think this is because she knew Dave and Jean O’Neill from dad’s involvement in politics
My Diary
In my diary, I included quite a lot more detail about the elections, see Chapter 129, even though I was still too young to vote! I noted that these were local Council elections and they were taking place throughout the country except in London. I noted that, in six major conurbations, only one third of the councillors were being elected. Elsewhere, all councillors were being elected. In terms of Norwich specifically, I noted that there were 16 wards with three councillors being elected in each. This explains why mum had three votes.
Dad Arrived
Dad was living and working in Birmingham at this point although he still came to Norwich frequently for work and to see us. On the day of the election, he arrived about 10 pm and he and I went to the election count. This caused some conflict with mum as it was a school night for me.
The Election Count and Results
Although it is clear that I went to this election count with dad, I have absolutely no memory of it! I find this a bit surprising as I have always been, and remain, interested in politics and almost always follow the results of election counts on TV into the early hours!
National Results
While I did not note national results overall, it was a very good night for the Conservatives with them gaining 1,745 councillors across the country. These gains came at the expense of both Labour and the Liberals who lost 1,309 and 223 councillors respectively.
Norwich Results
I did note the results in Norwich overall and these largely bucked the national trend. Of 48 seats, Labour won 36 and the Conservatives 12. This was a change of only one seat in favour of the Conservatives. From local news reports, this was in St Stephens ward which along with Eaton, Nelson and Town Close elected three Conservatives each.
Nelson Ward
I also noted the result in our ward of Nelson. The Conservatives won all three seats with between 1397 and 1416 votes per candidate ahead of Labour, with 764 to 769 votes per candidate and the Liberals with 279 to 322 votes per candidate. I think these results were pretty disappointing for the Liberals in a ward where they had previously finished above Labour. They only gained 12.2% of votes cast.
Nelson Ward still exists although its boundaries appear to have changed over time. Currently, it is roughly wedge-shaped covering most of the area bounded by Grapes Hill, Dereham Road, Unthank Road and the Ring Road. Currently, the three council seats are held by the Greens.
Candidates
I noted each of the candidates in Nelson Ward and the votes they received.
Mrs J R Griffiths
Mrs Jessie Ruby Griffiths was a Conservative candidate and she topped the poll with 1,416 votes. She worked for 20 years on the Town Clerk’s staff and as supervisor of the Food Office. In her teens, she fought to allow women to be members of the union NALGO. She served as a councillor from 1955 to 1978 representing both Town Close and Nelson wards. She was Lord Mayor of Norwich in 1969-70. From 1971, she was the Conservative Group Leader on the City Council. She was awarded an MBE in 1980 and died in 1982.
W A J Spear
William Arthur John Spear was a Conservative candidate who came second in the poll with 1,409 votes. A Norwich architect with his own practice, he served as a city councillor for 33 years, first elected to the Nelson Ward in 1954. He was Sheriff of Norwich in 1962-63 and Lord Mayor in 1974-75. He died in 1991 aged 83.
H C Rowley
Horace C Rowley was a Conservative candidate who came third in the poll with 1,397 votes. Originally from Wales, he was Norwich’s City Engineer from 1941 to 1966. He was a key figure in the reconstruction of Norwich following the second world war and was involved in some of the city’s most controversial planning projects including the construction of Anglia Square and the Magdalen Road flyover. Following retirement, he worked in private practice and also became a city councillor. In 1976, he became Sheriff of Norwich. He died in 1981.
F Evans
F Evans was a Labour candidate who came fourth in the poll with 769 votes. In 1974, he retired as chairman of the Nelson Ward Labour Association. I have not found out anything more about him.
Mrs E Bartram
Mrs E Bartram was a Labour candidate who came fifth in the poll with 765 votes. I think this refers to Mrs Emma Bartram who was first elected as a Norfolk county councillor in 1946 serving both Reepham and Walsingham wards. She was also a Methodist local preacher and a Justice of the Peace. She died in 1988 aged 90. I am however not completely sure that this was her as she appears to have lived in Fakenham and Cromer and I have not found any connection to Norwich or Nelson Ward specifically.
Mrs S D Carus
Mrs S D Carus was a Labour candidate who came sixth in the poll with 764 votes. Although she was not elected on this occasion, it seems she was elected in Mousehold Ward in 1985. I believe this may refer to Sally Denys Carus who appears to have been a county councillor in the late eighties. She may have worked as a training officer.
J T Swift
J T Swift was a Liberal candidate who came seventh in the poll with 322 votes. He also appears to have unsuccessfully contested council elections in Mousehold in 1980 and 1981 and Heigham in 1982. I have not found out more details about him.
The O’Neills
As noted before, Dave and Jean O’Neill were friends of dad’s through his involvement in the Liberal party. Sadly, they came eighth and ninth in this election with 303 and 279 votes respectively.
Other Liberal Candidates
Perhaps surprisingly, the Liberals did not contest Bowthorpe particularly as they had a total of 12 candidates standing across the city in Catton (2), Crome (1), Eaton (1), Hellesdon (1), Lakenham (2), Thorpe (1), Town Close (1) in addition to Nelson ward. Peter Mackintosh, who would contest Norwich North in the 1979 general election, see Chapter 124, finished seventh in Lakenham with 236 votes. John Wharry finished seventh out of eight candidates in Town Close ahead of an independent. Some details of other Liberal candidates are given below.
The Liberals only had their maximum three candidates in one ward, Nelson. It appears that they chose to spread their candidates across wards rather than concentrating them in particular seats as they had previously. Across the city, the results were disappointing for the Liberals. Their best result came from Philip Moore in Thorpe where he gained 486 votes. He subsequently went on to win a council seat in this ward in 1980 with a majority of just 46 over Labour.
M H Parkinson
M H Parkinson finished seventh in the Catton constituency with 297 votes. He also contested that ward in 1977 elections. He finished third of three candidates with only 208 votes. I have not found any other details.
R P Strutt
R P Strutt finished eighth in the Catton constituency with 225 votes. At that time, he appears to have been secretary of the South Norfolk Liberal Association and had previously been a divisional organiser for that association. It appears that he had formerly supported the Conservatives. In 1974, he was one of the nominees of Malcolm Scott as Liberal candidate for South Norfolk. He may have worked as regional development manager for the Visible Record Society.
Clare M Moore
Clare M Moore finished seventh in the Crome constituency with 228 votes. She also contested other local elections for the Liberals Thorpe ward the following year in 1977 and Crome ward in 1980, where she finished third with 139 votes. Married to Liberal Councillor and Lord Mayor, Philip Moore, she was also an Alliance/Liberal councillor from at least 1988 to 1991.
C E Cassell
C E Cassell finished seventh in the Eaton constituency with 389 votes. I have not found out anything more about him.
Mrs D E Williment
Mrs D E Williment finished fifth of five candidates in the Hellesdon constituency with 231 votes. She contested other elections, for example as a Liberal candidate in Mile Cross ward in 1980 and as a Liberal/Alliance candidate in Crome ward in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986 and 1987. In 1982, 1985 and 1986, she pushed the Conservative candidate into third place.
Mrs M D Symonds
Mrs M D Symonds finished eighth in the Lakenham constituency with 191 votes. I did find a letter from a Mrs M D Symond, on housing in Norwich, from 1983 but, apart from that, I have not found not anyting more about her.
Political Issues
In addition to involvement in electoral campaigns and, indeed as part of that involvement, dad was active on a number of political issues including, for example, campaigning for concessionary bus fares for pensioners and others.
Concessionary Bus Fares
In the 1970s, there was no national system of concessionary or free bus fares for pensioners or others. The current system was only introduced from 2007.
Liberal Party Proposals
In 1972, following a meeting in August, the Norwich Liberal Party urged all pensioners to write letters to city councillors on this issue, The party established a committee, chaired by my father, to look into the feasibility of cheap fares in and around Norwich. He hoped that a scheme would be introduced by the beginning of 1973 and that it would be administratively feasible, cost effective, flexible and easily understood.
A form of token scheme was envisaged possibly with each pensioner initially being given tokens worth £3 per year. An experimental scheme of £1 per person could be introduced first and would cost around £10,000. Chris Curtis explained the problems pensioners were facing and recognised an underling cause was an insufficient level of pension. However, concessionary bus fares were a helpful interim measure and had already been introduced in a number of places. While both the city council and bus operator were invited to the meeting, neither attended.
Meeting the Bus Operator
Following this meeting. in October 1972, representatives of Norwich Liberal Association, my father and Chris Curtis, met with Easter Counties Omnibus traffic officials as part of their campaign for concessionary bus fares. This followed letters being written to council members and a petition being presented to the council. Chris Curtis was disappointed that only five of 64 councillors had responded to the letters sent. Apparently, the bus company were open to the idea and were already operating schemes in other parts of East Anglia, including Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge and King’s Lynn, where pass holders were entitled to half-price off-peak travel. Following this meeting, dad and Chris Curtis reported back to the Norwich Liberal Association.
Letter to the Press
The following month, in November 1972, dad wrote to the local press saying that it was encouraging that the social services committee of the city council supported concessionary fares in principle. However, he was disappointed that they did not make more concrete proposals. Dad thought that money could be diverted from “ridiculous” plans to tidy up the provisions market. However, he was disappointed that the issue did not appear to have been discussed by the full council and only six of 64 councillors responded when contacted about the issue. He argued that there was strong public support for such a scheme, including the petition they had delivered. He urged the city council to make their views clear or, better still, introduce a scheme.
Scheme Introduced
A concessionary bus fare scheme was introduced In Norwich after this. In March 1973, the city council proposed to introduce this in October 1973 and estimated the cost as £35,000 per year. It was proposed that a pass would cost 25p and the bus company would receive a payment of £2-4 per pass issued. Pass holders would pay half fare outside peak hours.
However, the number of applications for passes fell after 1 April 1977 when charges for the pass were raised and the times when the pas could be used were restricted. From April 1987, a new scheme was introduced with no time restrictions on pass use.
Was Dad’s Political Career Successful?
Dad clearly expended a lot of time and effort in his political career contesting a number of local elections and one general election. On one level, his career was not successful. He failed to win any of the elections in which he stood.
However, his involvement and the involvement of others built up the strength of the Liberal party and its successors making it known to the electorate particularly in some wards. Only a few years later, in 1980, Philip Moore was elected to the city council in Thorpe ward. Other councillors followed Philip Moore became Lord Mayor of Norwich. Since that time, the make-up of Norwich City Council has changed dramatically There are now 39 seats distributed as follows – Green, 21, Labour 12, Liberal Democrat 3, Reform 2 and Independent 1.
Also, his campaigning, and the campaigning of others, on the issue of concessionary bus fares quickly bore fruit with Norwich City Council introducing a scheme at the end of 1973. I am not sure of the direct causal pathway but I am confident that the campaigning of the Liberals in Norwich was one of many factors which contributed to pensioners now enjoying free bus passes nationwide.
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