Oldham West and Royton by-election 2015 result: Labour candidate Jim McMahon wins leaving Ukip’s John Bickley in second and Nigel Farage complaining of electoral fraud
Labour candidate Jim McMahon won the Oldham West and Royton by-election last night with a majority of more than 10,000 votes.
In Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s first electoral test since taking the reins of the party, McMahon took 62 per cent of the vote, leading Corbyn to hail the result as a “vote of confidence”.
McMahon won more than 17,322 votes, while the UK Independence Party’s John Bickley came in second, with 6,487 votes, or 23 per cent.
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Ukip leader Nigel Farage tweeted concerns over the result before it was confirmed last night, and is set to make a formal complaint, claiming electoral fraud.
As a veteran of over thirty by-elections I have never seen such a perverse result. Serious questions need to be asked.
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) December 4, 2015
Turnout was 40.26 per cent, down from 59.6 per cent in May. In the General Election, Ukip came in second with 20.6 per cent of the vote.
Corbyn, who had a tough week due to the vote in parliament over Syrian air strikes, which culminated in major rebellion, said: “By-elections can be difficult for the party holding the seat, and turnouts are often low. But to increase our share of the vote since the general election is a vote of confidence in our party.”
The result will knock Ukip, which last year came in second to Labour in a by-election in Heywood and Middleton by just 617 votes, a constituency not far from Oldham West and Royton.
Read more: Oldham by-election: What does history tell us will happen?
The by-election was triggered by the death of the late Michael Meacher, who won the seat for Labour with a majority of 14,738 in the May General Election.
The seat has long been a Labour stronghold, held by Meacher since 1970, first for Oldham West, and then from 1997 Oldham West and Royton.
Chart created by Billy Ehrenberg.