Heywood and Middleton has been a Labour-held constituency since it was created in 1983. Liz McInnes won her third consecutive election in 2017, increasing her majority to 7,617.
This article was updated on December 9.
Historically, UKIP under Nigel Farage came within 617 votes of winning the seat in a by-election in October 2014. An election was triggered following the death of Jim Dobbin who was the MP between 1997 and 2014.
The constituency is staunchly Eurosceptic with 62.43% voting in favour of Brexit in June 2016. The Conservatives will be vying to maximise their chances in ending 34 years of uninterrupted Labour rule.
Candidates
Nigel Ian Ainsworth-Barnes (Green Party) (@ainsbar1)
A former firefighter and postman, Ainsworth-Barnes will be the first Green candidate standing in the constituency since the 2015 general election. If elected, he wants to improve the sustainability of local housing and wants a truly-integrated transport system across Greater Manchester.
Chris Clarkson (Conservative Party) (@ToryMemo)
Clarkson was a councillor for the Worsley ward in Salford between 2011 and 2019. He contested the seat in the 2017 election, receiving 38% of the vote – the Tories best ever performance in the seat.
Colin William Lambert (Brexit Party) (@brexit_colin)
Lambert was formerly a Labour councillor and was the leader of Rochdale Council between 2010 and 2014.
Upon becoming a Brexit Party parliamentary candidate, he said: “I left the Labour Party after nearly 40 years as it is simply not the party I joined. They have let down our city and people by ignoring the democratic decision to leave the EU.”
Liz McInnes (Labour Party) (@LizMcInnes_MP)
McInnes has been the MP since winning a by-election in September 2014. Before becoming an MP, McInnes worked in the NHS for 33 years and was a councillor in Rossendale between 2010 and 2014. She voted to trigger Article 50 in March 2017 which started the Brexit process.
Anthony John Smith (Liberal Democrats) (@ajsmith_libdem)
Smith is a councillor in Lindley ward in Kirklees Council. It will be the second time he contested the seat having stood in the 2014 by-election.
Meet the Candidates standing in Heywood and Middleton. https://t.co/xP1e9bd5JF @MM_newsonline #GeneralElection2019 pic.twitter.com/2Oe7IvYkBM
— Chris Bradford (@ChrisBrad1911) December 9, 2019
