William Teeling was expecting an easy ride in 1944 when he was chosen by the Conservatives to be their candidate in a by-election for one of the safest seats in Britain.

The two-member Brighton seat had given the Tories a record breaking majority of 62,263 in 1931 and even in 1935 the majority had been 41,626.

In any case there was a convention during the Second World War that the major parties did not contest by-elections.

The Liberals and Socialists respected this, so Teeling thought he would be returned unopposed when nominations were closed by the Mayor.

But with just seven minutes to go, nomination papers were handed in by none other than the Mayor’s brother, Bruce Dutton-Briant.

Here was a formidable and organised opponent. Dutton-Briant was an independent who was extremely well connected.

He claimed to have the backing of the Prime Minister and although Winston Churchill issued a public letter denying this it was never published.

This was because Churchill described the claim as a swindle and if Teeling had published the letter he would have been sued for libel.

Teeling had little backing because he had not expected a contest. What’s more, he lost a lot of potential votes because of his Irish ancestry and the fact he was a Roman Catholic.

At one time he feared that he would fritter away one of the biggest majorities ever seen. But in the event he squeezed in by only 2,309 votes.

It was a close call and Churchill pointedly walked out when Teeling took his seat in the House of Commons. But he proved to be a vote winner who never had a small majority again.

In 1945 he increased the victory margin to 18,265 even though the Tory vote was down almost everywhere in a Labour landslide.

The Brighton seat was split into three in 1950. Teeling chose the Pavilion constituency and made it a safe seat until he retired in 1969.

His successor Julian Amery held the seat comfortably until 1992 but only five years later it was won by Labour’s David Lepper and now it is the only seat held by the Greens.

Teeling was a curious character. A journalist, he lived like a tramp during a long walk in the 1930s to highlight poverty in the Great Depression.

He was a great enthusiast for the Channel Tunnel and chaired an all-party group of MPs in favour but he died long before it was opened.

Teeling was knighted in 1962 but became increasingly disillusioned by Westminster and his political autography was called Corridors of Frustration. He was always a backbencher.

The Tory high guard was not impressed by newspaper articles alleging some dodgy business practices and Teeling was persuaded to quit so that Amery could be given a safe seat. The official excuse for his departure was ill health.

He died in 1975 and is largely forgotten now. It was a pity that a politician so full of promise should have failed to meet his potential.