GREAT BRITAIN OMEN ON AVON WHAT WITH ALARMING FIGURES FROM THE NATIONAL 
OPINION POLL AND THE CONFESSIONS OF CHRISTINE, TOP TORIES WERE BRACED 
FOR BAD NEWS FROM LAST WEEK'S BY-ELECTION TO FILL JOHN PROFUMO'S 
VACANT SEAT AT STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, A TRUE-BLUE TORY CONSTITUENCY . THE NEWS 
WAS BAD ALL RIGHT, THOUGH HARDLY DISASTROUS . RIGHTWING CONSERVATIVE ANGUS 
MAUDE WON WITH 15,846 VOTES, BUT THE PARTY'S MARGIN DROPPED FROM 
ITS 1959 PEAK OF 14,129 TO A MERE 3,470 . THE 
GAINS, HOWEVER, DID NOT GO TO THE LABOR OPPOSITION, WHICH HAS 
ALWAYS RUN A POOR SECOND IN STRATFORD ; TORIES EITHER STAYED 
AWAY FROM THE POLLS OR VOTED LIBERAL . WHILE LABOR CANDIDATE 
ANDREW FAULDS GOT 12,376 VOTES, ONLY 359 MORE THAN THE LABORITE 
RECEIVED AT THE LAST ELECTION, DERICK MIRFIN, THE FIRST LIBERAL CANDIDATE 
TO CONTEST STRATFORD IN 13 YEARS, WALKED OFF WITH 7,622, CLOSE 
TO HALF THE TOTAL THAT WAS CAST FOR TORY MAUDE, ALTHOUGH 
THE LIBERALS HAD VIRTUALLY NO POLITICAL MACHINE WORKING FOR THEM . 
MANY TORIES WHO VOTED LIBERAL OUT OF DISSATISFACTION WITH THE GOVERNMENT 
WILL UNDOUBTEDLY RETURN TO THE FOLD AT THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTION 
. NONETHELESS, THE DROP IN TORY STRENGTH IN A TORY STRONGHOLD 
WAS A SOBERING CONFIRMATION THAT THE PARTY WILL HAVE A ROUGH 
TIME IN THE NATIONAL ELECTIONS, WHICH, AS A RESULT, WILL PROBABLY 
NOT BE HELD UNTIL SPRING . 