Oldham East and Saddleworth (UK Parliament constituency)

Oldham East and Saddleworth is a constituency in outer Greater Manchester represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since January 2011 by Debbie Abrahams of the Labour Party.

Oldham East and Saddleworth
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Oldham East and Saddleworth in North West England
County	Greater Manchester[1]
Electorate	72,997 (2023) [2]
Major settlements	Oldham (part)[3] Saddleworth[3] Shaw and Crompton[3]
Current constituency
Created	1997
Member of Parliament	Debbie Abrahams (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Littleborough & Saddleworth and Oldham Central & Royton

Constituency profile

Oldham East and Saddleworth is the largest constituency in Greater Manchester by area,^[4] and is one of three covering the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham. According to the Manchester Evening News it is "... a juxtaposition of downbeat urban terraces and the rolling Pennine hills."^[4]

UK Polling Report describes it as "a constituency at the eastern side of Greater Manchester, reaching from central Oldham up into the Pennines and Saddleworth Moor".^[3] It characterises East Oldham as "an area of deprived terraces and racial tensions", Shaw and Crompton as "relatively prosperous" and Saddleworth as composed of "middle-class villages and hamlets".^[3]

Within its bounds are the eastern fringes of Oldham (such as Derker, Glodwick, Greenacres, and Sholver), Shaw and Crompton, Lees, and Saddleworth (the latter of which includes the rural villages of Delph, Denshaw, Diggle, Dobcross, Greenfield and Uppermill).^[4] Between 1997 and 2010, Oldham East and Saddleworth incorporated the suburban town of Milnrow in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale when boundary changes placed it in the neighbouring Rochdale constituency.^[5]

For the 2011 by-election The Guardian described the constituency as "[Culturally] ... a shotgun marriage [likened to] ... Coronation Street meets Last of the Summer Wine, Salford combined with Holmfirth."^[6]

History

The seat was established for the 1997 general election from parts of the former Littleborough and Saddleworth and Oldham Central and Royton constituencies.^[4] Oldham Central and Royton was a safe Labour seat whereas Littleborough and Saddleworth had had a Conservative MP, Geoffrey Dickens, from its creation until a 1995 close three-party fought by-election where it was lost to a Liberal Democrat. Ahead of the 1997 general election the new seat was notionally Conservative, though from 1997 to 2011 the seat was a Labour/Liberal Democrat marginal;^{[n 1][4]} Phil Woolas of the Labour Party (defeated candidate in the 1995 by-election) was victorious in all four general elections in that period, but his majorities were not substantial and the Conservative vote increased from 16% to 24%.

At the 2001 general election, the far-right British National Party gained over 5,000 votes (an 11.2% share), retaining their deposit partly as Nick Griffin stood in the neighbouring West seat.^[1] Along with the BNP's showing in the neighbouring Oldham West and Royton constituency, this was interpreted as a reaction to the 2001 Oldham race riots.^[7][8] At the 2005 election the BNP's share of the vote dropped to 4.9%.^[1]

For the 2010 general election the seat lost the Milnrow and Newhey ward to the neighbouring Rochdale constituency and gained part of Alexandra ward from Oldham West and Royton.^[5]

After losing the 2010 general election by 103 votes, Liberal Democrat candidate Elwyn Watkins submitted a petition for a hearing by an election court, claiming that campaign literature issued by his Labour opponent Phil Woolas breached the Representation of the People Act 1983 by making false statements about his personal character.^[9][10] On 5 November 2010, the election court^{[n 2]} upheld the petition and declared the election void after reporting Phil Woolas guilty of making false election statements.^[11][12][13] Woolas sought a judicial review of the decision in the Administrative Division of the High Court, which upheld the decision of the Election Court in relation to two statements, whilst quashing the decision in relation to a third.^[14] As a result, the 2011 Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election was needed.^[15] By the time it was held, the Liberal Democrats had supported an increase in tuition fees, despite a manifesto commitment to oppose any such increase. This caused a significant drop in their polling numbers nationally, but one media report nevertheless stated the seat was "ultra-marginal between Labour and the Liberal Democrats".^[3] The by-election took place on 13 January 2011 and was contested by ten candidates.^[16] The Labour Party candidate Debbie Abrahams won, and held the seat in subsequent general elections.

Boundaries

Map of current boundaries

1997–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham wards of Crompton, Lees, St James', St Mary's, Saddleworth East, Saddleworth West, Shaw, and Waterhead, and the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale ward of Milnrow.

2010–present: The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham wards of Alexandra, Crompton, St James', St Mary's, Saddleworth North, Saddleworth South, Saddleworth West and Lees, Shaw, and Waterhead.

The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which was based on the ward structure in place at 1 December 2020, left the boundaries unchanged.^[17]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[18]	Party	Notes
	1997	Phil Woolas	Labour
	2011 by-election	Debbie Abrahams	Labour	Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2016-2018)

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Oldham East and Saddleworth^[19][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Debbie Abrahams	14,091	35.2	−8.3
	Reform UK	Jacob Barden	7,734	19.3	+12.8
	Conservative	Tom Fish	6,838	17.1	−23.2
	Workers Party	Shanaz Saddique	4,647	11.6	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Sam Al-Hamdani	3,386	8.5	+3.3
	Green	Fesl Reza-Khan	1,490	3.7	+2.0
	Independent	Paul Errock	1,362	3.4	N/A
	Independent	Nick Buckley	517	1.3	N/A
Majority			6,357	15.9	+12.7
Turnout			40,065	54.8	−8.9
Registered electors			72,760
	Labour hold		Swing	-10.6

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Oldham East and Saddleworth^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Debbie Abrahams	20,088	43.5	−11.0
	Conservative	Tom Lord	18,589	40.3	+3.2
	Brexit Party	Paul Brierley	2,980	6.5	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Sam Al-Hamdani	2,423	5.2	+1.6
	Proud of Oldham & Saddleworth	Paul Errock	1,073	2.3	N/A
	Green	Wendy Olsen	778	1.7	N/A
	Independent	Amoy Lindo	233	0.5	N/A
Majority			1,503	3.2	−14.2
Turnout			46,164	64.0	−1.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-7.1

General election 2017: Oldham East and Saddleworth^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Debbie Abrahams	25,629	54.5	+15.1
	Conservative	Kashif Ali	17,447	37.1	+11.2
	UKIP	Ian Bond	2,278	4.8	−14.4
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan Smith	1,683	3.6	−9.3
Majority			8,182	17.4	+3.9
Turnout			47,037	65.3	+3.5
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.0

General election 2015: Oldham East and Saddleworth^[23][24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Debbie Abrahams	17,529	39.4	+7.5
	Conservative	Sajjad Hussain	11,527	25.9	−0.5
	UKIP	Peter Klonowski	8,557	19.2	+15.3
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Marbrow	5,718	12.9	−18.7
	Green	Miranda Meadowcroft	1,152	2.6	N/A
Majority			6,002	13.5	+13.2
Turnout			44,483	61.8	+0.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.0

By-election 2011: Oldham East and Saddleworth^{[12][16][25][26][27]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Debbie Abrahams	14,718	42.1	+10.2
	Liberal Democrats	Elwyn Watkins	11,160	31.9	+0.3
	Conservative	Kashif Ali	4,481	12.8	−13.6
	UKIP	Paul Nuttall	2,029	5.8	+1.9
	BNP	Derek Adams	1,560	4.5	−1.2
	Green	Peter Allen	530	1.5	N/A
	Monster Raving Loony	Nick "The Flying Brick" Delves	145	0.4	N/A
	English Democrat	Stephen Morris	144	0.4	N/A
	Pirate	Loz Kaye	96	0.3	N/A
	Bus-Pass Elvis	David Bishop	67	0.1	N/A
Majority			3,558	10.2	+9.9
Turnout			34,930	48.0	−13.2
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.95

General election 2010: Oldham East and Saddleworth^[28][29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Phil Woolas	14,186	31.9	−10.7
	Liberal Democrats	Elwyn Watkins	14,083	31.6	−0.5
	Conservative	Kashif Ali	11,773	26.4	+8.7
	BNP	Alwyn Stott	2,546	5.7	+0.8
	UKIP	David Bentley	1,720	3.9	+1.8
	Christian	Gulzar Nazir	212	0.5	N/A
Majority			103	0.3	−10.1
Turnout			44,520	61.2	+4.4
Void election result			Swing	−5.1

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Oldham East and Saddleworth^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Phil Woolas	17,968	41.4	+2.8
	Liberal Democrats	Tony Dawson	14,378	33.2	+0.6
	Conservative	Keith Chapman	7,901	18.2	+2.1
	BNP	Michael Treacy	2,109	4.9	−6.3
	UKIP	Valerie Nield	873	2.0	+0.5
	Independent	Philip O'Grady	138	0.3	N/A
Majority			3,590	8.2	+2.2
Turnout			43,367	57.3	−3.7
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.1

General election 2001: Oldham East and Saddleworth^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Phil Woolas	17,537	38.6	−3.1
	Liberal Democrats	Howard Sykes	14,811	32.6	−2.8
	Conservative	Craig Heeley	7,304	16.1	−3.6
	BNP	Michael Treacy	5,091	11.2	N/A
	UKIP	Barbara Little	677	1.5	N/A
Majority			2,726	6.0	−0.3
Turnout			45,420	61.0	−12.9
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.13

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Oldham East and Saddleworth^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Phil Woolas	22,546	41.7	+11.5
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Davies	19,157	35.4	+1.0
	Conservative	John Hudson	10,666	19.7	−15.7
	Referendum	Douglas Findlay	1,116	2.0
	Socialist Labour	John Smith	470	0.9
	Natural Law	Ian Dalling	146	0.3
Majority			3,389	6.3
Turnout			54,101	73.92
	Labour win (new seat)

Chris Davies was MP for the former Littleborough and Saddleworth seat since the 1995 by-election.

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Greater Manchester

Notes

1. The phrase comes from the estimated size of the winner's majority.
2. Determined by High Court of England and Wales Judges Mr Justice Nigel Teare and Mr Justice Griffith Williams

References

1. "Oldham East & Saddleworth: Constituency – Telegraph". London: Ukpolitics.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2011.^{[dead link‍]}
2. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – North West". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
3. "UKPollingreport – Constituency Guide » Oldham East and Saddleworth". Ukpollingreport.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
4. "Oldham East and Saddleworth – Manchester Evening News". Menmedia.co.uk. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
5. "Greater Manchester: New Constituencies Ward Breakdown". Electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
6. White, Michael (7 January 2011). "Oldham byelection race remains too close to call | Politics". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
7. "BNP makes its mark in Oldham". The Guardian. 8 June 2001. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
8. "'Something has gone wrong in Oldham,' MP warns, following surprise BNP vote". The Irish Times. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
9. "Losing candidate challenges Oldham election result". BBC News. 28 May 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
10. Election Petition submitted to the High Court – Part 1, Part 2 Archived 18 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine and Part 3. Parts 2 and 3 includes copies of the election literature challenged. (Oldham Council website. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
11. "Watkins v Woolas 2010 EWHC 2702 (QB)". British and Irish Legal Information Institute. 5 November 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
12. Oldham East and Saddleworth UK Polling Report
13. Judges order election re-run in ex-minister's seat BBC News. 5 November 2010
14. "R on the application of Woolas v The Parliamentary Election Court and others (2010) EWHC 3169 (Admin)". British and Irish Legal Information Institute. 3 December 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
15. "Judges order election re-run in ex-minister's seat". BBC News. 5 November 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
16. "Ten Candidates To Fight By-Election". Saddleworth News. 23 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
17. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 5 North West region.
18. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "O"
19. "General Election 4 July 2024 results". Oldham Council. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
20. "Oldham East and Saddleworth results". BBC News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
21. Sansome, Jessica; Otter, Saffron (14 November 2019). "All the Greater Manchester General Election 2019 candidates". men. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
22. "Oldham East & Saddleworth parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
23. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
24. "Election 2015 – Oldham East & Saddleworth". BBC News. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
25. "BNP's Nick Griffin in bid for Phil Woolas' Oldham seat". thejc.com. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
26. "Three on Labour's Saddleworth Shortlist". Saddleworth News. 10 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
27. "Official Monster Raving Loony Party Homepage". Omrlp.com. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
28. "Election 2010 – Oldham East & Saddleworth". BBC News. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
29. "UK General Election results May 2010". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
30. "UK General Election results May 2005". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
31. "Oldham East & Saddleworth, 1997 and 2001". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 24 December 2010.

External links

• Oldham East and Saddleworth UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
• Oldham East and Saddleworth UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• Oldham East and Saddleworth UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

53°36′N 2°06′W