This film is part of Rentals
Kinross By-election
In 1963, prime minister Alec Douglas-Home threw himself on the mercy of the voters; ITV's This Week followed the campaign
Overview
ITV's This Week visits the political constituency of Kinross and West Perthshire to cover a most unusual by-election - one of very few to include a sitting prime minister among the candidates. Alec Douglas-Home had inherited the premiership from Harold Macmillan in October 1963. In a bid for legitimacy, he resigned his peerage and stood for parliament in this very safe Tory seat. Inevitably, the poll attracted huge media interest.
The PM won easily (though he misplaced more than 10% of the Tory vote on the way) but his government had less than a year left. He was ousted by Harold Wilson's Labour in the 1964 general election.
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