East in 1959; Paul Dean (aged 36) was head of the home affairs section of the Conservative Research Department; Ronald Maddocks (aged 50) was a barrister based in Swansea; and Sir Brandon Rhys-Williams (aged 33) worked for I.C.I. as a commercial assistant. On 12 September, the executive committee of Ebbw Vale Conservative Association decided to submit Rhys-Williams to the membership for adoption as their candidate. Liberals It was initially thought unlikely that a Liberal candidate would stand in the byelection; the last time the Liberals had fought the seat was in 1929. At the end of August the Welsh Liberal Party decided to send an organiser to the constituency for a month to see if the party could win support. At the same time a willing potential candidate appeared: Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick Lort-Phillips, (aged 49) who was a farmer, author and journalist and had twice previously campaigned in Gloucester. Although the national headquarters of the Liberal Party was still unsure, Lort-Phillips was eventually adopted on 10 October. At the 1960 Liberal Assembly held at the end of September, he caused a stir by moving an amendment calling for unilateral nuclear disarmament which was defeated by 607 votes to 78. Plaid Cymru and others The Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru made it clear that it would stand in the byelection, and on 7 September the Ebbw Vale area committee of the party chose Emrys Roberts (aged 28) as their candidate. Roberts had fought two previous elections in Newport and Cardiff North, and was organising secretary of the party. No other candidate appeared by the time nominations closed on 7 November. Campaign The party conference season intervened between candidate selection and the opening of the campaign; Michael Foot made a strong speech at the 1960 Labour Party conference supporting unilateral nuclear disarmament. Conference passed a unilateralist motion against the strong views of party leader Hugh Gaitskell. Foot was anxious to stress that he would not raise Gaitskell's leadership during the byelection campaign, pledging not to answer questions about it if he was asked, but he would campaign on the issue of nuclear arms. On 26 October, the Labour chief whip Herbert Bowden formally started the byelection by moving that a writ for electing a new member be issued. Nominations were to close on 7 November and polling day would be 17 November. Unilateralism intrudes Foot opened his campaign on 30 October with an