Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Sparrow

Jeremy Corbyn joins Jim McMahon to celebrate Oldham result – live

Labour wins Oldham byelection by wide margin.

Summary

  • Jeremy Corbyn has welcomed Jim McMahon’s handsome victory for Labour in Oldham as proof that his anti-austerity stance is a vote-winner. (See 10.37am.) A poor result would have triggered claims (founded or otherwise) that Corbyn was to blame, but the size of the majority, and the comprehensive defeat of Ukip, has bolstered Corbyn’s position and silenced his critics in the party for the moment.
  • Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, has suggested that allowing immigrants who don’t speak English access to postal votes undermines the democratic process. He also suggested that there was fraud involved in postal voting in Oldham. (See 8.03am.) Labour accused him of “sour grapes”. (See 8.48am.)

That’s all from me.

Thanks for the comments.

This is from the FT’s Jim Pickard.

What does the Oldham result really tells us Jeremy Corbyn's leadership? A Q&A

Almost all the media reporting from Oldham suggested that Labour was facing a real challenge from Ukip, partly because some traditional supporters had doubts about Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. Yet Labour won handsomely. Is that because the journalists were all just biased and wrong, as the Corbyn camp suggests? (See 10.26am.) Or were there other factors at play?

Here’s a Q&A that may untangle some of these issues.

Q: All this stuff about Corbyn being unpopular - did the journalists just get it wrong, or make it up?

No. Sometimes journalists do distort things to fit a political agenda but over the last few weeks there have been multiple reports from serious, reputable journalists who have either witnessed first-hand Oldham Labour-leaning voters criticising Corbyn, or reported Labour figures echoing these concerns. For example, there was Bagehot in the Economist, this report in the Daily Telegraph, Rafael Behr in the Guardian, George Eaton in the New Statesman and Helen Pidd in the Guardian.

I did not arrive in Oldham until yesterday afternoon but I was curious about this and I spent about an hour and a half talking to people in the Spindles shopping centre and I encountered the same phenomenon too. For example, Norman Davies, a retired Royal Mail worker, told me.

I’m generally a Labour man but unfortunately I won’t vote for them this time, not while they’ve got this idiot at the helm, this guy who would cut our defence, no way ... I don’t like him at all. He’s doing more harm than good for this country. He’s a no, no for them.

If Labour really thought Corbyn was an asset here, he would have played a part in the campaign. But, apart from one visit early on, he stayed away, and he did not feature much on Labour campaign leaflets either.

Q: So, if Corbyn really is unpopular with some voters, why didn’t that make any difference?

I can think of think of three reasons.

1) Corbyn’s leadership never became the issue. Ukip tried to make it the issue of the campaign but they failed to persuade the electorate that this was what the contest was about. Opposition parties like Ukip win byelections by identifying a grievance and invited voters to use the poll to express their feelings about this. People use byelections to rhetorically kick the prime minister. But they don’t use them to get involved in opposition leadership feuds.

2) But the identify of the local candidate was an issue - and Labour’s was excellent.

3) Corbyn may alienate some voters, but he attracts others too. I discovered this in my short spell in the shopping centre. For example, Nigel Jones, a former publican, told me:

I’ve been a card carrying Labour supporter for 33 years and I’m quite leftwing, so Corbyn is my ideal leader in a way.

And a district nurse who did not want to give her name told me.

[Corbyn’s] interesting, in a good way. You feel that he answers things. He does not talk like other politicians. They never answer anything.

The Corbyn effect may help to explain why the Greens did so badly. At the general election they got 839 votes (1.9%). Last night they got just 249, and their share of the vote was 0.9%.

Q: Are there any other factors that made a difference?

There weren’t any polls carried out in Oldham (because political polling is rather out of favour at the moment, given what happened at the general election). If there had been polling showing Labour clearly ahead, journalists would have recalibrated their expectations.

And Labour may have chosen to downplay expectations, on the grounds that it is much easier to get activists to campaign if they think there is a risk of their party losing. This happened in the Glenrothes byelection in 2008 and Oldham is similar. In Glenrothes the SNP thought they had a real chance of taking this safe Labour seat, but on the night Labour held on with a majority of almost 7,000, which was much larger than the pundits expected.

Q: So what lessons should we learn from Oldham?

The usual ones, that in byelections candidates matter, and that being organised matters even more. Nigel Farage’s complaints about postal voting are a tribute to the efficiency of the Labour machine. In addition we can add, that the opposition can win byelections even when it is divided at Westminster so long as the fundamentals on the ground are sound.

Q: And are there any lessons we shouldn’t take away from Oldham?

Yes. This contest was neither an endorsement or a rejection of Corbyn’s politics because his leadership never became the issue. At a general election his leadership and his policies will be deciding factors, and Oldham tells us next to nothing about what impact they might have.

And, although Oldham was spectacularly bad for Ukip, it would be too soon to conclude that the Ukip threat to Labour in working class areas in the north is fading. Stephen Bush was very good on this at the Staggers yesterday. Glenrothes was a serious setback for the SNP. But seven years later it took the seat - and most of the rest of Scotland too.

Updated

LBC’s Theo Usherwood has posted two tweets that support the Nigel Farage thesis. (See 8.03am.)

Updated

McMahon says Northern Powerhouse rhetoric is 'a write-off of the north'

And this is what Jim McMahon said at the photocall.

This is a truly overwhelming thing. For a local lad to represent the town he loves in Westminster is a big, big issue. I’m very clear; I am sick to death of what the Tories are doing to towns like Oldham. The whole Northern Powerhouse rhetoric is nothing more than a write-off of the north to create a poorhouse, and I’m sick of it. I think it’s about time that we show the Tories the people have had enough.

My colleague Helen Pidd says this is rather odd, given McMahon’s involvement with the project.

Updated

This is what Jeremy Corbyn said at his photocall with Jim McMahon.

Good morning everybody. Congratulations to Jim McMahon winning this incredible result in the Oldham byelection. He stood on a campaign of jobs, of people’s needs, of opposing what Tory austerity is about, but also of brining investment, apprenticeships and a good future for the people of Oldham.

Jim, an experienced council leader, brilliant local man, can speak up for the people of this town, speak up in parliament for them and bring about the kind of decent, prosperous opportunity future that we want for everybody, everybody in this country. Congratulation Jim McMahon MP.

JeremyCorbyn4PM, the Twitter and Facebook account run by people involved with Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership campaign, has put up a post attacking “opinion formers” for assuming that Corbyn’s views would prove unacceptable in a seat like Oldham.

Labour activists are in Chadderton awaiting the arrival of Jeremy Corbyn.

This is from LabourList’s Conor Pope.

My colleague Simon Jenkins has written a Comment is Free article with his First Thoughts on the Oldham byelection. He says Oldham voted not for a Corbynista but for an Osbornista.

Here’s an excerpt.

The occupational disease of Westminster analysts is reading too much into byelections. They hate it when uppity local voters offend their expectations. There have been as many Liberal Democrat and Ukip “new dawns” as there have been Monster Raving Loony candidates. But voters in byelections are not selecting governments, nor necessarily passing judgment on national leaders. Sometimes they even vote for the candidate.

This was clearly the case in Oldham. Corbyn was not a name on Labour lips. The campaign was summed up by a local Labour worker as being about Jim, Jim, Jim and Jim. Jim McMahon is the coming man of Manchester’s political renaissance. The 35-year-old local council leader and, until yesterday, probable elected mayor of the new Manchester regional authority, is one of a group of local politicians to do well from George Osborne’s “northern powerhouse”.

McMahon stands alongside such “Osbornistas” as Manchester’s Sir Richard Leese, Wigan’s Peter Smith and Sean Anstee of Trafford.

Byelections are always interpreted as if they hold lessons for the next general election. On Twitter three politics academics have been suggesting that it would be wrong to view the Oldham result in this light.

From Will Jennings

From Tim Bale

From Andrew Scott Crines

The academic Rob Ford is co-author of Revolt on the Right, the definitive book about the rise of Ukip. He has been posting some interesting thoughts about the Oldham result on Twitter.

Updated

Simon Danczuk, the Labour rightwinger who is a strong critic of Jeremy Corbyn, has just told Sky News that the Oldham result was a credit to Jim McMahon, the centrist candidate. If the party had selected a more leftwing candidate, it would not have done so well, he said.

Danczuk refused to accept that the result was an endorsement of Corbyn’s leadership. He said he had been campaigning in Oldham and “[Corbyn’s] name came up in not a very good way when I was knocking doors”. It was to Corbyn’s credit that he decided to stay away during the campaign, Danczuk said.

George Osborne, the chancellor, has congratulated Jeremy Corbyn in person on the Labour win in Oldham. They were on the train together, the Press Association reports.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was congratulated on his party’s by-election victory by a surprise passer-by today.

Chancellor George Osborne was on the same train as Corbyn as both men headed out of London this morning.

The chancellor was on his way to his constituency while the Labour leader was travelling to Oldham where Labour won a convincing victory.

Osborne was on his way to the buffet car when he spotted Corbyn.

He congratulated him on a “very good” result and the two chatted for a few minutes.

Updated

Tom Watson's Today interview - Summary

Here are the main points from Tom Watson’s Today interview

  • Watson said Labour needed to deal firmly with intimidation in the party, and that if any members were involved in the protest outside Stella Creasy’s office, they should be expelled.

If there were Labour party members on that demonstration, intimidating staff members of an MP like that, then I think they should be removed from the party. It is simply unacceptable that people conduct themselves in that way. Jeremy and I have written to Labour party members to reinforce this.

But he rejected a call for Momentum, the Corbynite pressure group, to be disbanded. They were “a bit of a rabble” and “a bit of an irrelevance in this debate”, he claimed. But he went on:

But if there are people who are linked to Momentum that are intimidating Labour, then I think we should deal with it.

Here is video of the demonstration outside Creasy’s office.

  • Watson rejected Nigel Farage’s claims about the Oldham result being “bent”.

It seems like sour grapes to me. If [Farage] has got evidence of that, he should have told the police immediately.

  • Watson said he “never, ever, ever” wanted to be Labour leader.

Let me thank you for giving me the opportunity for the millionth time to say that I never, ever, ever want to the leader of the Labour party. I’m very, very happy as deputy. I’m enjoying my friendship and comradeship with Jeremy. We sometimes disagree with each other but that’s politics.

  • He said he would like Ken Livingstone to “cut down a bit” on his criticism of Labour colleagues. But he acknowledged that there was not hoping of Livingstone staying quiet altogether.

I’m not entirely sure if his words are unifying the Labour party this week. As the nearest thing there is to a Labour elder, and he’s getting on a bit now, Ken, he should probably know that this is the week we should be trying to bring people back together.

  • Watson said the Oldham result was ‘a very, very good result for Jeremy Corbyn”.

Updated

Q: Should Momentum be wound up?

Watson says they are not that effective.

They look like a bit of a rabble to me.

Q: Should Ken Livingstone be quiet? He was saying he would back deselections.

Watson says Livingstone is now a Labour elder. He should act appropriately, Watson says.

He rejects claims Livingstone is running Corbyn’s office. And he says getting Livingstone to shut up may be an impossible dream.

And that’s it. I will post the best lines shortly.

Updated

Watson says he never wants to be leader of the Labour party

Q: Is it worrying that Hilary Benn got more applause than Jeremy Corbyn?

Watson says Benn persuaded him. But he respects Corbyn for allowing a free vote.

Q: You looked very grumpy when John McDonnell pulled out his Little Red Book for his stunt during the autumn statement.

Watson says he read that. It was not true. He could not see what Watson was pulling out.

Q: Do you want to be leader yourself?

No, says Watson.

I never, ever, ever want to be leader of the Labour party.

Watson says he will support Corbyn in a comradely way. Sometimes they disagree.

Q: What are you going to do about Momentum?

Watson says he was glad Momentum put out a statement saying they did not want to see deselections. The protest outside Stella Creasey’s office was unacceptable. If Labour members were on it, they should be thrown out.

Q: Are you worried that Labour members are out of touch with the public?

Watson says Jim McMahon campaigned on tax credits. That struck a chord. It was a very, very good result for Corbyn.

He urges Labour MPs to stop unattributable briefing against Corbyn.

Q: In the Commons many Labour MPs seemed unhappy with what they heard from Corbyn.

Watson says there were strong views on both sides. Labour MPs were given a free vote. That suggests a new approach.

Q: A party should not be divided on going to war.

Watson says voting on going to war is about the most serious decision an MP has to take. Given the differences, a free vote was the right way to go. Perhaps the Tories should have had one too.

Tom Watson's Today interview

John Humphrys is interviewing Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader.

Q: You must be relieved.

Watson says Labour won for two reasons. It had a very good local candidate. And Nigel Farage said this would be a referendum on Jeremy Corbyn. If so, Corbyn has won.

Q: Farage says it was bent.

Watson says that sounds like sour grapes. He says if Farage has evidence of corruption, he should report it to the police.

Farage claims giving postal votes to people who don't speak English undermines democracy

Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, used an interview on the Today programme a few minutes ago to flesh out his claim that the byelection was “bent”. (See 7.11am.) But he went even further. Here are the main points.

  • Farage claimed that allowing immigrants who don’t speak English access to postal votes was undermining the democratic process. To justify his assertion, he claimed that a report from Helen Pidd, the Guardian’s north of England correspondent, had described places in the constituency where people did not speak English, did not know who Jeremy Corbyn was, but were going to vote Labour. (Farage was not describing her report accurately; he seemed to be conflating this news story with this tweet.) Farage said this was “worrying in the sense of where we go with some of our communities”. When it was put to him that immigrants could vote Ukip if they wanted, he replied:

They can’t speak English. They’ve never heard of Ukip or the Conservative party. They haven’t even heard of Jeremy Corbyn ...

I’m commenting on the state of modern Britain and mass immigration. It means effectively that in some of these seats where, as I say, people don’t speak English, but they’re signed up for postal votes, effectively the electoral process is now dead.

  • He said Ukip would file a formal complaint about the byelection and the use of postal votes. One box of postal votes was 99% full of Labour votes, he claimed. “That does not seem to be consistent with modern, liberal democracy.” He said he was “shocked” by what happened and he suggested the use of postal votes had been corrupt. There were “reports of people turning up at polling stations with bundles of postal votes being delivered on behalf of other people”, he said.

I’ve been involved in 30 byelections and no result has shocked my quite as much as this one. A safe Labour seat which Labour won; no particular surprise there. But some very odd things happened yesterday. There was a 15% increase in the number of postal votes yesterday. And stories of practices that shouldn’t really be happening in a modern democracy ...

What I’m basically saying is some of the things we’ve seen before in Birmingham, some of the things we’ve seen before in Tower Hamlets, I have reason to believe were happening in Oldham yesterday.

By 15% increase in postal votes on Thursday, he was referring to figures saying that by Wednesday only 55% of postal votes has been returned. By Thursday night 70% had been handed in. You can hand in a postal vote at a polling booth.

  • He conceded that this did not alter the result. The total number of postal votes cast was 7,115, and Labour’s majority was over 10,000.
Nigel Farage (right) with John Bickley, the Ukip candidate Oldham West and Royton <br>
Nigel Farage (right) with John Bickley, the Ukip candidate Oldham West and Royton
Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

Full details of Oldham results

Here is the Press Association table with the full results.

There is a minor difference from the table originally issued last night because at the count it was announced that Labour had got 17,322 votes. Subsequently Oldham council said that that was a mistake, and that the real figure was 17,209.

Jim McMahon (Lab) 17,209 (62.11%, +7.33%)

John Bickley (UKIP) 6,487 (23.41%, +2.80%)

James Daly (C) 2,596 (9.37%, -9.61%)

Jane Brophy (LD) 1,024 (3.70%, +0.01%)

Simeon Hart (Green) 249 (0.90%, -1.05%)

Sir Oink-A-Lot (Loony) 141 (0.51%)

Lab maj 10,722 (38.70%)

2.27% swing UKIP to Lab

Electorate 69,009; Turnout 27,706 (40.15%, -19.48%)

And here are the results from 2015, for comparison.

Lab maj 14,738 (34.17%) - Turnout 43,137 (59.63%) Meacher (Lab) 23,630 (54.78%); Arbour (UKIP) 8,892 (20.61%); Ghafoor (C) 8,187 (18.98%); Harkness (LD) 1,589 (3.68%); Hart (Green) 839 (1.94%)

It has been a good night for Jeremy Corbyn, and a terrible night for the media. Almost all the advance coverage of the Oldham West and Royton byelection was predicated on the idea that Ukip were posing a strong challenge in this safe Labour seat, and that Corbyn’s unpopularity with some traditional Labour voters in the constituency was a problem for the party.

In the event Labour clocked up a majority of more than 10,000, and there was actually a swing away from Ukip. There is a technical term for a win of this sort: stonking.

Here is our overnight story.

And here are the key developments overnight.

  • Corbyn said the result was “a vote of confidence” in Labour. He 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. It’s a clear demonstration that Labour is the party working people trust.

Our determination to oppose Tory austerity policies, and our successes in pushing them back on tax credit and police cuts show that Labour is getting results for working people.

Corbyn will visit the town this morning to celebrate Labour’s victory.

  • Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, has questioned the result, saying postal voting in the constituency was “bent”.

There are more details of the Ukip claims here, on last night’s live blog from the count.

  • Jim McMahon, the Labour candidate, has dismissed the Ukip claims. He said:

Ukip just need to understand that people have the right to vote for the party that best represents their interests. I can say with confidence that we represent every community in Oldham and every community came out and voted Labour.

I will be covering further reaction to the result, and analysis, throughout the morning.

If you want to follow me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

Updated

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Tori Spelling recalls her childhood friendship with Paris Hilton
Describing a long-standing bond between their families that began when they were young, Tori Spelling has recalled her childhood friendship with Paris Hilton.
BANG Premier
BANG Premier
Is dark chocolate healthier than milk chocolate? 2 dietitians explain
Easter chocolate is all over supermarket shelves. Some people reach straight for milk chocolate eggs while others pause at the darker varieties, assuming they’re healthier.
The Conversation
The Conversation
Astronauts may struggle to reproduce in outer space, study suggests — what does that mean for the future of space colonization?
A new study found that microgravity simulated on Earth hindered sperm cell movement, egg fertilization and embryo development ‪—‬ findings that have serious implications for the future of space colonization.
LiveScience
LiveScience
Keith Urban Allegedly Claims Nicole Kidman 'Villain Narrative' Is 'Very Unfair,' Vows Revenge
Keith Urban is reportedly furious over a perceived 'villain narrative' around his split from Nicole Kidman, after she omitted him from a recent interview and left him feeling erased.
International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Former WWE Superstar Braun Strowman Takes Down 7,300 Calories A Day, But It's His Grocery Bill That Has Me Sweating
And it's not just the meat sweats...
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
Black Comedian Faces Backlash After Donning “White Face” To Mock Erika Kirk
The skit features Druski with his face painted white, wearing a blonde wig, heavy makeup, and bright blue contact lenses.
Bored Panda
Bored Panda
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.
Download on the AppStore Get it on Google Play