Tony Lloyd held Labour’s seat in Rochdale whilst incumbent MP and ex-Labour candidate Simon Danczuk only managed to secure 883 votes.
Lloyd won with 29,035 votes, the largest majority of any candidate in the town since the Great Reform Act of 1832, ahead of the Conservative candidate Jane Howard on 14,260.
Lloyd paid tribute to what he called ‘Labour’s foot-soldiers’ as well as councillors and those who supported his campaign on the streets.
He told MM: “In the end this is about what the people of Rochdale have chosen, what they have said very clearly is they want someone who is going to talk Rochdale up not talk Rochdale down and they want someone who will fight for the things the town needs.
“They need a government that is very very different and that message is one that I will be taking on behalf of the people of Rochdale to our national parliament.
“A strong voice for Rochdale isn’t just a slogan it’s what Rochdale people are entitled to.”
Conservative representative Jane Howard spoke to MM of how pleased she was with the number of votes the Conservatives gained despite coming second.
#Rochdale win for Labour’s Tony Lloyd #mmelection2017 @MM_newsonline pic.twitter.com/gk6DN2OcWb
— Seamus McDonnell (@JustSeamus) June 9, 2017
She said: “I will continue, I will be back on track and I will be fighting for the next time out.
“It’s been 62 years since we had a conservative government in Rochdale so to have done so well I’m really really proud of that and I am just hoping that the winning candidate takes this town forward because I would have worked really hard for it and I will be holding him to account.”
The Conservative Party secured the highest number of votes in the constituency since the 1955 when the party was last in power in Rochdale.
Meanwhile, Danczuk, who some had expected would challenge Labour’s recent dominance in Rochdale, finished behind both UKIP and the Liberal Democrats only beating Andy Littlewood of the Greater Manchester Homeless Voices Party.
The turnout in Rochdale increased from 2015, in line with high numbers from across the country, it finished at 64.2% against 57.4% from the last election.
In the nearby constituency of Heywood and Middleton Labour’s Liz McInness retained her seat with 26,578 votes while the turnout was 62.5%.
An excited McInnes told the Manchester Evening News: “I am absolutely delighted to have held the seat, and not only held it but increased my majority.
“I think Theresa May must be ruing the day she called this election.”
