Voters Go To Polls In Oldham By-Election

Mr Watson told the BBC that these remarks were “not particularly helpful” at a time when the party should be trying to present a more united face after the infighting and recriminations over Syria. But I was wrong.

But their prophecies of doom were blown apart by a 7 per cent swing to Labour that left Ukip trailing by over 10,000. On a lower turnout than the general election, he increased his party’s share of the vote to a remarkable 62%.

And Ukip didn’t take the news very well.

It has come under fresh scrutiny in recent days amid claims MPs who voted to bomb so-called Islamic State in Syria have been subject to online intimidation – or threats to oust them as Labour candidates. I never thought we would get the majority we got.

“He’s an honest, decent, principled and good man”, Benn said of Corbyn in a speech to lawmakers at the end of the debate, as he prepared to defy his party leader and vote with the government. But to increase our share of the vote since the general election is a vote of confidence in our party.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that internal party polling had UKIP at 35 percent and Labour at 42 percent.

He did, though, admit that Labour would still have won a majority even without postal votes. Either the party was deluding itself that these numbers reflected what was happening on the ground – or they were simply fantasy.

But Labour MP Tristram Hunt called for the party leadership to disown Momentum.

Jim McMahon will make an excellent MP and a worthy successor to Michael Meacher, and I am looking forward to welcoming him to Labour’s team at Westminster.

As Mr Farage and his Ukip colleague Suzanne Evans later acknowledged, Labour’s large margin of victory means that postal votes were irrelevant to the outcome of the poll – even if they were all “bent”.

That Corbyn could harvest votes on such an immoral platform, and despite the eloquent opposition of 66 members of his own Parliamentary party, including a number of the most senior ones, is downright alarming, and gives rise to questions of how deep a culture of nihilism and violent anti-Western extremism has penetrated British society.

The Oldham West result brings with it two dangers for Labour.

During the campaign, UKIP targeted voters disaffected with politics and concerned about immigration and jobs. We’ve driven the Tories back on tax credits, on police cuts, on their whole austerity agenda and narrative.

Jeremy Corbyn’s first engagement with the ballot box as Labour leader came in the Oldham West and Royston byelection on Thursday.

“It shows just how strong, how deep-rooted and how broad our party, the Labour Party, is for the whole of Britain”.

Labour sources said they were “fairly confident” of retaining the seat. Others believed Mr McMahon’s personal popularity in the town overcame any national issue.

Corbyn may not be so lucky at his next electoral hurdle.

“As a veteran of over 30 by-elections I have never seen such a perverse result”. It was won thanks to a local, tangible message.

They will now have to wait until May’s elections to the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, in some local authorities and for London’s mayor. Although the party might attempt a similar strategy in these races – focusing on dependable local candidates – Corbyn will not be able to stay out of the limelight so easily.

Those splits were emphasized in the 10 1/2-hour debate as a former Labour home secretary, Alan Johnson, attacked the “self- righteous certitude” and “finger-jabbing” of Corbyn’s supporters.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he said: “In the past few weeks, I have met many Labour voters in the North of England and I would estimate that almost 50% of them… don’t like him as a leader”.

Rebecca Harvey is deputy editor of Co-operative News.