Jeremy Corbyn hails ‘strong’ Labour Party after resounding by-election win
Labour’s share of the vote was 62.11 per cent, an increase on it’s comfortable 2015 General Election victory in the Greater Manchester seat.
His candidate Jim McMahon secured a majority of more than 10,700 votes over Ukip and increased the party’s share of the vote in the Oldham West and Royton by-election.
Mr McMahon polled 17,209 votes, with Ukip’s John Bickley trailing in second on 6,487, a majority of 10,722.
Mr Farage said he was not questioning Labour’s victory, but denounced the electoral process as “bent” after claims that people had arrived at polling booths carrying bundles of postal votes.
Britain’s opposition Labour Party held onto a House of Commons seat in a by-election, passing its first electoral test since socialist Jeremy Corbyn became leader in September.
His death in October triggered Thursday’s by-election in a part of England that has long identified with left-leaning Labour, but where UKIP is now making inroads with its promises to leave the European Union and sharply cut immigration.
McMahon said he was “delighted” by the result and said he would “do my best to live up to those high standards” set by previous MP Michael Meacher.
But Labour-run Oldham Council said it had not received any complaints.
There had been apprehension among party members on the ground that concerns over Mr Corbyn’s leadership would lead voters to turn their backs on Labour.
Earlier Mr Corbyn had said the result was a “vote of confidence” in the party. “It’s a clear demonstration that Labour is the party working people trust”, he wrote.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage branded the result “perverse” and said “serious questions need to be asked”. If he has got evidence of that, he should have told the police immediately. I’m not saying any more beyond that. He said it was very hard to gauge the result on the campaign trail, but added: “The last by-election I was involved in was Rochester and there was definitely a buzz going our way then and there wasn’t that in Oldham. It means effectively that in some of these seats where people don’t speak English and they sign up to postal votes, effectively the electoral process is now dead”.
“His name came up in not a very good way when I was knocking on doors, so I think it was right that he stayed away from it”, Mr Danczuk told Sky News.
Flanked by placard-waving supporters on the steps of Chadderton town hall, Corbyn said: “This campaign shows just how strong our party is, not just here in Oldham, but all over the country”.
“The big issue is they put in an outsider to this place”.