South Yorkshire Times September 26, 1959

Clear Majority Decision

Dearne Valley: Coun. E. Wainwright is chosen

Coun. Edwin Wainwright (51), of Wombwell was chosen by the Dearne Valley Divisional Labour Party, meeting at Wath Grammar School on Sunday, as their candidate in the constituency at the General Election.

He succeeds the Rt. Hon. Wilfred Paling, M.P., a former Minister of Pensions and Postmaster General, who is not seeking re-election. Mr. Paling has represented the Division (formerly Wentworth) since 1931 and was M.P. for Doncaster from 1922 to 31.

Coun. Wainwright had a clear majority over Wath Labour Party nominee, Dr. Donald Higgins. He has been a member of the Wombwell Urban Council for 20 years and was chairman in 1948. He is N.U.M. branch secretary at Darfield Main Colliery, and is a member of the N.U.M. National Executive Council.

Coun. Wainwright has been Divisional Agent since 1951. He is married and has four children.

After the ballot Coun. Wainwright told the ”South Yorkshire Times” that he was looking forward to a very interesting and hard-working campaign. “I hope we shall be able to increase the majority and place it back to the figures of 1950”, he said. He paid tribute to Mr. Paling, who he described as “one of the most worthy and capable miners’ M.P’s in the whole country”.

The defeated nominee, Dr. Higgins, secretary of Wath Labour Party since 1957 and a member of the Urban Council for eight years, said the result was not unexpected nor undeserved ”We shall now endeavour to give Eddie Wainwright such a majority that our enemies will think twice about showing their faces in the Dearne Valley again”, he said.

Conservative Candidate

Mr. Wainwright’s opponent, Mr. David S. W. Blacker (Conservative). aged 31, was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Oxford. He has been farming in Hampshire since 1949, and for the last two years has been pioneering new methods of better preservation of grass.

He is a Governor of Petersfield Secondary School, member of Petersfield Rural Council, a keen churchman and local churchwarden. Mr. Blacker was adopted as candidate yesterday (Thursday) and is staying during the election campaign at crook-house Farm, Darfield.

He is intending to tour industrial and social groups and says “I am very optimistic about reducing the majority by a considerable margin.”