Austin Mitchell seeks repeat

Press, 20 April 1979, Page 3

Austin Mitchell seeks repeat

SZPA London The former New Zealand political commentator, Mr Austin Mitchell, will be looking for history to repeat Itself when Britain goes to the polls on May 3. Mr Mitchell withstood the Conservative tide when he won the fishing port constituency of Grimsby for a beleagured Labour Party almost two years ago, with the slim majority of 520. The seat had been held by the British Foreign Secretary, Mr Anthony Crossland, with a comfortable margin of 6982 but w'hen Mr Cross-

dand died in early 1977, the ruling Labour Party’s stocks were low and the Conservatives had recent sweeping by-election victories to justify huge leads in public opinion polls. Mr Mitchell, campaigning on a strong anti-E.E.C. stance, limited a swing to the Right to 7 per cent. On the same day, April 29, 1977, in another by-election 80km from Grimsby, at Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, the Conservatives had a swing of more than 20 per cent and captured one of Labour’s safest seats.

With polls now again pointing to a Conservative win, and with the same opponent he had two years ago, Mr Mitchell predicts a win next month of the same historic proportions. This time, though, the Conservatives need only a 0.6 per cent swing to put the Grimsby seat on their side of the House.