The 1973 Berwick-upon-Tweed by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 8 November 1973 for the House of Commons constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed. It was one of four UK by-elections held on the same day. The by-election took place during the 1970s Liberal Party revival. This was the fifth Liberal gain during the 1970-1974 Parliament. Although largely overshadowed by the Scottish National Party's spectacular victory in Glasgow Govan on the same day, it was the narrowest by-election result since the Carmarthen by-election in 1928, forty-five years earlier. Previous MP The seat had become vacant when the constituency's Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), Antony Claud Frederick Lambton, resigned following a private scandal. To resign from the House of Commons he asked to be appointed to the sinecure office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, which appointment was made on 1 June 1973. The Stewardship is a notional office of profit under the Crown, appointment to which vacates an MPs seat in Parliament. Lambton, a Conservative, had been MP for the constituency since 1951. Antony Lambton (10 July 1922 – 30 December 2006), was briefly the 6th Earl of Durham in 1970 but disclaimed that title to remain in the House of Commons. He was known before 1970 by the courtesy title of Viscount Lambton, a style he continued to claim after renouncing his peerage. Candidates Five candidates were nominated. The list below is set out in descending order of the number of votes received at the by-election. 1. The Liberal Party candidate was Alan James Beith, born on 20 April 1943. He was a lecturer in politics and a local Councillor. Beith had contested the constituency in the 1970 general election, finishing third. Beith won the by-election and retained the seat until his retirement in 2015, and by the 2010 election was the longest serving Liberal Democrat MP. Beith was the Liberal Party Chief Whip 1977-1985 and Deputy Leader 1985-1988. Following the formation of the (Social and) Liberal Democrats in 1988, he contested the party leadership. Beith subsequently became Deputy Leader of the Parliamentary Party, a post he held from 1992 until 2003. 2. The Conservative candidate was J.D.M. Hardie. He had previously contested the Scottish seats of West Stirlingshire in 1966 and Berwickshire and East Lothian in 1970. After losing the by-election, Hardie again contested the seat in the February 1974 general election. 3. The Labour Party was represented by Dr Gordon