Roy Wise

Alfred Roy Wise (7 July 1901 – 21 August 1974) was a British Conservative Party politician and was the Member of Parliament for the constituencies of Rugby and Smethwick.

Biography

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He was born on 7 July 1901 to Alfred Gascoyne Wise and Augusta Frances Nugent. His father was a judge for the Supreme Court of Hong Kong, and his brother was Percival Kinnear Wise.

He married Cassandra Coke and had one son, Group Captain Adam Nugent Wise LVO MBE RAF, born 1943.

He was elected to the House of Commons at the 1931 general election as Member of Parliament (MP) for Smethwick, holding the seat until his defeat in the Labour landslide at the 1945 general election, when he contested Epping, replacing the Conservative candidature of Prime Minister Winston Churchill who had transferred his candidature to the new, safer seat of Woodford. He returned to the House of Commons at the 1959 general election as MP for Rugby, winning the seat from the sitting Labour MP James Johnson with a majority of only 407.[1]

Wise was re-elected at the 1964 election with a slightly increased majority of 1,689. However, at the 1966 general election he lost the seat to the Labour candidate, William Price by a margin of only 409 votes.[2]

He died on 21 August 1974.

Electoral history

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General election 1929: Smethwick[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Oswald Mosley 19,550 54.8 −2.3
Unionist Roy Wise 12,210 34.2 +0.5
Liberal Maude Egerton Marshall 3,909 11.0 +1.8
Majority 7,340 20.6 −2.8
Turnout 35,669 78.9 +0.3
Labour hold Swing 1.4
General election 1931: Smethwick[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Roy Wise 20,945 60.1 +25.7
Labour W. Ernest Lawrence 13,927 39.9 −14.9
Majority 7,018 20.2 n/a
Turnout 34,872 74.7 −4.2
Conservative gain from Labour Swing 20.3
General election 1935: Smethwick[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Roy Wise 16,575 52.5 −7.7
Labour Charles Wortham Brook 15,023 47.5 +7.6
Majority 1,552 5.0 −17.2
Turnout 31,598 70.7 −4.0
Conservative hold Swing −7.7
General election 1945: Epping
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Leah Manning 15,993 44.1 +19.3
Conservative Roy Wise 15,006 41.3 −17.8
Liberal Sydney Robinson 5,134 14.6 −1.9
Majority 987 2.8
Turnout 36,313 71.4 +3.7
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +18.6
General election 1959: Rugby
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Roy Wise 17,429 42.6 −4.0
Labour James Johnson 16,959 41.4 −8.7
Liberal Simon Goldblatt 6,413 15.7 N/A
Independent Archie S Frost 142 0.4 N/A
Majority 470 1.2 −2.3
Turnout 40,924 85.6 +0.2
Conservative gain from Labour Swing
General election 1964: Rugby
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Roy Wise 19,221 45.1 +2.5
Labour D.H. Childs 17,532 41.2 −0.2
Liberal Simon Goldblatt 5,522 13.0 −2.7
Social Credit Archie S Frost 304 0.7 N/A
Majority 1,689 4.0 +2.8
Turnout 42,580 84.6 −1.0
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1966: Rugby
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Price 21,797 50.0 +8.8
Conservative Roy Wise 21,388 49.0 +3.9
Social Credit Archie S Frost 397 0.9 +0.2
Majority 409 0.9 −3.1
Turnout 43,579 84.9 +0.3
Labour gain from Conservative Swing

References

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  1. ^ Not updated: UK General Election results: October 1959
  2. ^ Not updated: UK General Election results: March 1966
  3. ^ a b c British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig (1983). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.

Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Smethwick
19311945
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Rugby
19591966
Succeeded by