Ebbw Vale by-election, 1960

The Ebbw Vale by-election of 17 November 1960 was a by-election for a single seat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Caused by the death of Labour Party Deputy Leader Aneurin Bevan, the constituency was very safely held by the party and never in danger of changing hands. The selection of Michael Foot, a prominent leftwinger out of sympathy with the party leadership on nuclear disarmament and other issues, led to a lively campaign. Foot's handy win was seen as causing problems for party leader Hugh Gaitskell.

Aneurin Bevan had represented Ebbw Vale since the 1929 general election, and had been a very high-profile politician almost throughout. His health was poor in the late 1950s; Bevan had a major abdominal operation in December 1959. Unknown to the general public was that the reason for his operation was that Bevan had been diagnosed with cancer. It was hoped that Bevan would be able to recover, and at the end of March 1960 Bevan told the press he intended to have a prolonged holiday but then resume active politics. Bevan's cancer proved terminal; on 2 July he was reported as critically ill, and he died "peacefully in his sleep" on 6 July.

At the 1959 general election, the result in Ebbw Vale had been:

With such a large Labour majority, there was a great deal of attention on the selection of a Labour candidate for the byelection. The procedure did not begin until the end of the summer but on 24 August it was reported that two nominations had been received by the Constituency Labour Party. They were from Ron Evans (a steelworker, Bevan's former agent and a Monmouthshire County Councillor), and from Gordon Parry, a schoolteacher and Pembrokeshire County Councillor. On 29 August the branch of the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation at Richard Thomas and Baldwins steelworks nominated Michael Foot, who had been a prominent left-wing Labour MP for Plymouth Devonport from 1945 to 1955 and the influential editor of unofficial Labour journal Tribune since losing his seat. Foot had been one of Bevan's close friends and strongest supporters; for Foot, it was a cause of pride that he could follow Bevan. Foot also had a following among the local party members.

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