In the he was defeated by Ben Couch. During the middle of the 1975 election campaign he was admitted to hospital with a serious heart condition, after collapsing, leaving him little opportunity to campaign. His wife Chriss said that long hours, local duties to constituents and late at night debates at Parliament led him to often return home greatly fatigued which contributed to his collapse. After spending four weeks in hospital he was discharged before being readmitted once again before finally being released to recuperate at home.
