 In the early 1920s, South Norfolk had been a marginal seat which alternated between Conservative and Labour MPs, before the Conservative James Christie held it from the 1924 election until Labour's Christopher Mayhew won the seat at the 1945 general election.Baker had recaptured South Norfolk for the Conservatives in 1950 and held it in 1951; but with majorities of 6.8% and 9.0%, it was far from being a safe seat for the Conservative Party.The result was a narrow win for the Conservative candidate John Hill, with a majority of only 865 votes (2.9%) over his sole opponent, the Labour candidate J. M. Stewart.