1976 Coventry North West by-election in this by-election, a development that former leader Jo Grimond blamed in part on scandals surrounding incumbent Jeremy Thorpe's homosexuality. Grimond suggested that the result and the allegations meant that Thorpe "must think of stepping down". Thorpe stood down as Liberal leader two months later. 1976 Coventry North West by-election The Coventry North West by-election, in Coventry on 4 March 1976, was held after the death of Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Maurice Edelman. A safe Labour seat, it was won by Geoffrey Robinson, who retained the seat in 1979. The by-election represented the first outing for the National Party;
Jeremy Thorpe plenty of cliffhangers, especially once the trial begins". A British three-part television series, also titled ""A Very English Scandal", based on Preston's novel, aired on the BBC in May 2018, directed by Stephen Frears, with actor Hugh Grant starring as Thorpe and Ben Whishaw as Norman Scott. The first episode drew a viewership of 4.6 million. Following the final installment of "A Very English Scandal", the BBC aired a documentary called "The Jeremy Thorpe Scandal", created in 1979 by BBC Panorama journalist Tom Mangold, which had been planned for release after the anticipated conviction of Thorpe, but which was then