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2015 Oldham West and Royton by-election

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Oldham West and Royton
by-election, 2015
← 2015 3 December 2015 (2015-12-03) 2017 →
Oldham West and Royton constituency
  First party Second party Third party
 
Candidate Jim McMahon John Bickley James Daly
Party Labour UKIP Conservative
Popular vote 17,209 6,487 2,596
Percentage 62.1% 23.4% 9.4%
Swing Increase7.3% Increase2.8% Decrease9.6%
MP before election

Michael Meacher
Labour

Elected MP

Jim McMahon
Labour

The Oldham West and Royton by-election was a UK parliamentary by-election held on 3 December 2015 in the constituency of Oldham West and Royton in Greater Manchester. This was the first by-election of the 56th UK Parliament.

The by-election was caused by the death of the sitting Member of Parliament (MP) Michael Meacher on 21 October 2015;[1] Meacher had been the Labour Party MP for the seat since its creation in 1997 and had represented its predecessor seat of Oldham West since 1970.

A writ for the by-election was moved in Parliament on 2 November 2015, setting polling day as 3 December 2015.[2][3]

Jim McMahon held the seat for Labour with a winning 62% of the vote, an increase of 7.3 percentage points. There was a 40.3% turnout.

Candidates

Six candidates contested the election; the statement of persons nominated was released by Oldham Council on 9 November 2015.[4]

The Labour Party, which last held the seat, selected its candidate on 5 November 2015[5] from a shortlist of four: Mohammed Azam, National Executive Committee member and former local councillor; Jane East, who contested the seat of Colne Valley unsuccessfully at the 2015 general election; Failsworth East councillor Jim McMahon, leader of Oldham Council; and Chris Williamson, former MP for Derby North.[6][7][8] McMahon won the selection, reportedly with 232 votes against 141 for Azam in the final round, after the elimination of East and Williamson.[9][10]

UK Independence Party (UKIP) came second in the constituency at the 2015 general election[11] and fielded a new candidate, John Bickley, who was runner-up at the by-election held in 2014 in the neighbouring constituency of Heywood and Middleton.[12] Others talked about as potential candidates were Paul Nuttall, the UKIP deputy leader,[13] and Steven Woolfe, both MEPs for North West England.[14]

The Conservative Party came a close third to UKIP at the 2015 general election and selected James Daly, a solicitor and Bury councillor,[15] who contested the Bolton North East constituency in 2015.[16]

The Liberal Democrat candidate was Jane Brophy, who works for the NHS in Greater Manchester and has served as a Trafford councillor for over 15 years; she was LibDem candidate for Altrincham and Sale West at the 2010 and 2015 general elections.[17]

Simeon Hart stood for the Green Party, having contested the constituency for the Greens at the 2015 general election.[18]

Sir Oink A-Lot stood for the Official Monster Raving Loony Party.[19]

Results

Oldham West and Royton by-election, 2015[20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jim McMahon 17,209 62.1 +7.3
UKIP John Bickley 6,487 23.4 +2.8
Conservative James Daly 2,596 9.4 −9.6
Liberal Democrats Jane Brophy 1,024 3.7 0.0
Green Simeon Hart 249 0.9 −1.0
Monster Raving Loony Sir Oink A-Lot 141 0.5 N/A
Majority 10,722 38.7 +4.5
Turnout 27,706 40.3 −19.3
Labour hold Swing +2.3

Aftermath

The result was considered by commentators as surprisingly good for Labour, who had been expected to be more closely challenged by UKIP,[21] and was reported as a boost for Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the party.[22][23]

On the morning after the by-election, UKIP leader Nigel Farage and some other party sources claimed that there had been voting fraud particularly around ethnic minority voters and around postal votes,[24][25][26] with Farage claiming the vote was "bent" and that in constituencies with large numbers of ethnic minority voters who do not speak English "effectively the electoral process is now dead".[26][27] Paul Nuttall, UKIP's deputy leader, said to journalists: "You've got to ask yourself, is this Britain or is this Harare?"[28] However, others in UKIP downplayed the allegations,[29] with deputy chairman Suzanne Evans saying the party risks sounding like "bad losers".[28] Tom Watson, Labour's deputy leader, dismissed the complaints as "sour grapes".[27]

Farage stated that he was planning to make a formal complaint about the allegations.[26][22] Deputy leader Paul Nuttall wrote an open letter to Greg Clark, the Secretary of State for the Department for Communities and Local Government, raising concerns about postal voting processes.[30]

Results at the 2015 General Election

General Election 2015: Oldham West and Royton[31][32]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Michael Meacher 23,630 54.8 +9.3
UKIP Francis Arbour 8,892 20.6 +17.4
Conservative Kamran Ghafoor 8,187 19.0 −4.7
Liberal Democrats Garth Harkness 1,589 3.7 −15.4
Green Simeon Hart 839 1.9 N/A
Majority 14,738 34.2
Turnout 43,137 59.6
Labour hold Swing -4.0

See also

References

  1. ^ "Labour MP Michael Meacher dies". BBC News. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  2. ^ Zeffman, Henry (31 October 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn to face Oldham West election test on 3 December". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  3. ^ "Oldham West by-election date confirmed". BBC News. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated". Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  5. ^ "Selection timetable for Oldham West by-election revealed". LabourList. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Labour announces shortlist for the Oldham West and Royton by-election". Manchester Evening News. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  7. ^ "Town Hall chief McMahon in MP contest". Oldham Evening Chonicle. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Oldham West by-election date confirmed". BBC News. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  9. ^ "Jim McMahon selected in Oldham West". Labour List. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  10. ^ "Labour chooses by-election candidate for Oldham West and Royton". BBC News. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  11. ^ "Is Ukip a threat in Oldham West?". Progress. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  12. ^ Pickard, Jim (3 November 2015). "UKIP announces John Bickley as Oldham by-election candidate". Financial Times. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  13. ^ "John Healey: Labour frontbencher warns of Ukip threat as Oldham West and Royton prepares for byelection". The Independent. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  14. ^ Payne, Sebastian (22 October 2015). "How UKIP intends to fight and maybe win Oldham West and Royton". The Spectator. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  15. ^ "Cllr James Daly". Bury North. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  16. ^ Wallace, Mark (5 November 2015). "Cllr James Daly selected to fight the Oldham West and Royton by-election". ConservativeHome. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  17. ^ "By-election news – Jane Brophy selected for Oldham West and Royton". Liberal Democrat Voice. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  18. ^ "Labour chooses by-election candidate for Oldham West and Royton". BBC News. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  19. ^ Carey, Alex (25 November 2015). "All heated at the hustings". Oldham Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  20. ^ "Oldham West and Royton: Parliamentary By-Election Results". Oldham Council. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ Ansari, Arif (4 December 2015). "Oldham by-election: 'Nobody anticipated a victory on this scale'". BBC News. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  22. ^ a b Pidd, Helen; Watt, Nicholas (4 December 2015). "Corbyn hails Oldham byelection as sign of Labour's deep-rooted support". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  23. ^ Hodges, Dan (4 December 2015). "Oldham by-election: Nigel Farage will always be a bridesmaid, never a bride". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  24. ^ "Jeremy Corbyn hails Oldham West and Royton by-election victory". BBC News. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  25. ^ "UKIP to review by-election 'evidence' amid fraud claims". BBC News. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  26. ^ a b c "UKIP make formal complaint over alleged 'abuses' in Oldham West by-election as Labour claim victory". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  27. ^ a b "Watson: Farage postal vote complaint 'sour grapes'". BBC News. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  28. ^ a b "Oldham by-election: Police could be called in to investigate alleged voting fraud amid Ukip complaints about Labour victory". Telegraph.co.uk. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  29. ^ Tom Parfitt and Laura Mowat. "UKIP's Nigel Farage claims 'perverse' Labour win in Oldham West was FIXED - Politics - News - Daily Express". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  30. ^ "Our postal voting system is open to abuse". Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  31. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  32. ^ "Oldham West & Royton". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
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