Oldham West and Royton (UK Parliament constituency)

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Oldham West and Royton
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Oldham West and Royton in Greater Manchester.
Outline map
Location of Greater Manchester within England.
County Greater Manchester
Electorate 72,402 (December 2010)[1]
Current constituency
Created 1997
Member of parliament Jim McMahon (Labour)
Number of members One
Created from Oldham West and Oldham Central & Royton
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency North West England

Oldham West and Royton is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament[n 2]. It has been represented by Jim McMahon of the Labour Party since 4 December 2015, after winning a by-election following the death of Michael Meacher on 21 October 2015.

Boundaries

1997–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham wards of Alexandra, Chadderton Central, Chadderton North, Chadderton South, Coldhurst, Royton North, Royton South, St Paul's, and Werneth.

2010–present: The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham wards of Chadderton Central, Chadderton North, Chadderton South, Coldhurst, Hollinwood, Medlock Vale, Royton North, Royton South, and Werneth.

The constituency is one of three covering the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham. It covers most of the western part of the borough, including Chadderton and Royton but not Failsworth which is in the Ashton-under-Lyne constituency.

Name

In July 2006 fourteen representations were received by the Boundary Commission for England, which called for the inclusion of Chadderton in the name of the Oldham West and Royton parliamentary constituency. Many of these objectors pointed out that Chadderton was much larger and more populous than Royton. The commission rejected the proposed alternative name (Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton) because it was too long and they did not believe that there was a significant amount of support for a name change.[2]

History

The present constituency was formed in 1997 from parts of the former Oldham Central and Royton and Oldham West constituencies and has to date been a safe seat for the Labour Party, having been held by Michael Meacher since the 1997 general election. Meacher had previously been the MP for Oldham West since 1970.

Despite no part of the constituency, nor Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council ever having had a BNP councillor, the constituency gained a level of notoriety at the 2001 general election when the leader of the far-right British National Party (BNP), Nick Griffin, stood as a candidate. Griffin received 6,552 votes (a 16.4% share), beating the Liberal Democrats to third place and 524 votes behind the Conservative Duncan Reed in second. This was widely interpreted to be a reaction to the serious race riots that had occurred in Oldham (and other northern towns) a few months earlier.[citation needed] Because of the heightened tension, the Returning Officer took the decision not to allow any candidates to make speeches after the declaration of the results. This led to Griffin and fellow BNP candidate Michael Treacy, who ran in the neighbouring constituency of Oldham East and Saddleworth, symbolically gagging themselves on the platform wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan "Gagged for Telling the Truth".[3]

In local elections following the 2001 riots the BNP also received considerable support: specifically in the two wards of Royton North and Royton South. However, from 2008 the BNP share of the vote has been markedly lower, with BNP and former BNP candidates coming in third or fourth in Royton North and other Oldham West and Royton Wards.[4]

In the 2005 and 2010 general elections the BNP managed to retain deposits (polling around 7% on both occasions) but have only achieved fourth place, with the Conservative Party second behind veteran politician Michael Meacher of the Labour Party, who stood in the 2015 general election. Meacher's death in October 2015 triggered a by-election, the first of the new Parliament, which was held on 3 December 2015 and won by Jim McMahon for the Labour Party. [5]

Members of Parliament

Election Member[6] Party
1997 Michael Meacher Labour
2015 by-election Jim McMahon Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Oldham West and Royton by-election, 2015[7]
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 Democrat 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
General Election 2015: Oldham West and Royton[8][9]
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 Democrat 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
General Election 2010: Oldham West and Royton[10][11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Michael Meacher 19,503 45.5 -2.9
Conservative Kamran Ghafoor 10,151 23.7 +2.6
Liberal Democrat Mark Alcock 8,193 19.1 -2.1
BNP Dave Jones 3,049 7.1 +0.3
UKIP Helen Roberts 1,387 3.2 +0.7
Respect Shahid Miah 627 1.5 N/A
Majority 9,352 21.8 -5.3
Turnout 42,910 59.1 +5.1
Labour hold Swing -2.7

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Oldham West and Royton[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Michael Meacher 18,452 49.1 -2.1
Conservative Sean Moore 7,998 21.3 +3.6
Liberal Democrat Stuart Bodsworth 7,519 20.0 +7.6
BNP Anita Corbett 2,606 6.9 -9.5
UKIP David Short 987 2.6 +2.6
Majority 10,454 27.8
Turnout 37,562 53.3 -4.3
Labour hold Swing -2.8
General Election 2001: Oldham West and Royton[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Michael Meacher 20,441 51.2 -7.6
Conservative Duncan Reed 7,076 17.7 -5.7
BNP Nick Griffin 6,552 16.4 N/A
Liberal Democrat Marc Ramsbottom 4,975 12.4 +0.6
Green David Roney 918 2.3 N/A
Majority 13,365 33.5
Turnout 39,962 57.6 -8.5
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Oldham West and Royton[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Michael Meacher 26,894 58.8 +9.7
Conservative Jonathan Lord 10,693 23.4 -14.7
Liberal Democrat Howard Cohen 5,434 11.9 +0.4
Socialist Labour Gias Choudhury 1,311 2.9 N/A
Referendum Peter Etherden 1,157 2.5 N/A
Natural Law Sheila Dalling 249 0.5 N/A
Majority 16,201 35.4
Turnout 45,738 66.1
Labour hold Swing

See also

Notes and references

Notes
  1. ↑ A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
  2. ↑ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
References
  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Final Recommendations for Parliamentary Counstituency Boundaries in Greater Manchester, Boundary Commission for England, published July 19, 2006. URL accessed October 24, 2006.
  3. ↑ BNP: Under the Skin, BBC News. URL accessed December 11, 2006.
  4. ↑ [1], Oldham Council Election Results 2008.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "O" [self-published source][better source needed]
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Guardian Online
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

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