South Yorkshire Times, June 27th, 1970
Path to Westminster
General Election results from the South Yorkshire constituencies:
Dearne Valley
- E. Wainwright (Lab) 33,966
- B. Cowl (Con) 6,848
- P. Hargreaves (Lib) 4,426
Majority 27,118 NO change
1966 — Wainwright (Lab) 36,735, Roberts (Con) 6,121, Hargreaves (Ind) 2,170. Maj. 30,614. No change.
With the majority of the country’s General Election results already to hand, an there being no doubt as to the outcome of the Dearne Valley poll, there was little excitement at the count at Wombwell High school last Friday.
The only Dearne Valley issues at stake were how big the Labour majority would be, and if any candidate was to forfeit his deposit. in fact Liberal candidate Coun. Peter Hargreaves did lose his £150 deposit, tailing to get 12 ½ per cent of the total votes. It was the second successive election in which Coun. Hargreaves lost his deposit, though this time he more than doubled his vote as an Independent in 1966.
Labour’s Mr. Edwin Wainwright, who has represented the Dearne Valley at Westminster for 12 years, polled 33,966 votes — nearly three thousand fewer than at the last General Election—and had a majority of 27,118 as against a majority of 30,612 in 1966.
Conservative candidate Court. A. Barry Cowl, of York, polled 6,848 votes, and Coun, Hargreaves polled 4.426 votes, A 12 ½ per cent share of the poll would have been 5,655.
At the declaration of the poll Mr. Wainwright said “1 think Dearne Valley is one of the constituencies in the country that has always been solidly behind the Labour Party.”
It had been a very cleanly fought election. Personalities had not been allowed to enter the tight and he was very pleased at the way his two opponents have conducted their campaigns.
Rother Valley
- HARDY (Lab.) 44,322
- Durant (Con) 17,418
Majority 26.904 No Change
1966—Griffiths (Lab) 43,634, Clarke (Con) 13,167. Majority 30,467. No change.
Elected to succeed Mr David Griffiths last Thursday as M.P. for Rother Valley was Wath Urban Councillor and Mexborough secondary school teacher, Mr. Peter Hardy. This week he replied to a statement by his Conservative opponent, Mr. Tony Durant, that the Labour majority was lowest on record.
Mr. Hardy said there had been 14 General Elections in Rother Valley. On five occasions the percentage vote had been lower than last week and there had been smaller majorities on six occasions.
In 1935 when Mr Edward Dunn was elected M.P. for Rother Valley the percentages were exactly the same as last week when Mr. Hardy was elected.
Mr. Hardy said that in terms of percentage Rother Valley was before last week’s Election the 21st safest Labour in the country with the third largest majority. It was now the 14th safest Labour seat, and still had the third largest majority.
He added: “From these figures it can be seen that the majority last week was by no means the lowest on record.”
Over the weekend Mr. Hardy was busy dealing with his first constituency work and he travels down to London next week for the new session of Parliament.