Talk:Bristol South East (UK Parliament constituency)

Untitled
I have edited the 1974 election result. R.R. Goding was not an independent candidate but the candidate for the WMPC - the rather quaintly named 'World Middle Classes Party' which, in this country was a bit of a one man band. If I remember correctly it stood for Monarchy, anti socialism, a free market and against the European Union.

I know this because Wing Commander Goding was my mother's partner at this time and did not approve of our socialist leanings.

Rupert was a rather colourful character who lived a full and interesting life. He passed away in 1977 aged 79. He fought in the RFC towards the end of the first World War and was a decorated pilot. He was also a pioneer of television rental in this country and had travelled widely, including in South Africa where he had several business interests.

Even aged 79 he had not lost his zest for life and enjoyed driving hi E-type Jaguar, and campaigning against Tony Benn.

Ironically I am a great admirer of Tony Benn (I can hear Rupert spinning in his grave now) and my father (Douglas Earl) was also a supporter and corresponded with Tony over a number of years on a variety of issues until my father's death in 2000.

I doubt whether this will be of interest to anyone but I am simply posting this to give some background in support of changing the entry for Rupert in the 1974 election. Rupert may be only a footnote in political history but given his service in the miltary we owe it to him, I think, to get that footnote right.

February 1974 change figures
The change figures for the February 1974 United Kingdom general election changes seem to be calculated exactly on the difference from the 1970 election result. However there were boundary changes between the two contests and at the time this was thought to make the seat more marginal, with there being speculation that Tony Benn might struggle to hold the seat. Thus the change figures present a misleading picture as they do not compare like for like. Dunarc (talk) 22:34, 21 September 2022 (UTC)