Right in the traditional Labour heartland, Oldham East is the kind of seat that this election will hinge on. The constituency voted 60% in favour of leaving the EU, but has never been out of Labour’s control and will be heavily contested.
This article was updated on December 8.
Despite being a heavily-Leave constituency, in 2017 Labour extended their comfortable majority over the Conservatives, and their vote share increased as a substantial UKIP challenge disappeared.
The seat has always been held by a Labour MP and it has only the Lib Dems who could mount a serious challenge in recent history. But since going within 103 votes in 2010, the party has struggled since, and lost their deposit in 2017.
Debbie Abrahams – Labour
https://twitter.com/Debbie_abrahams
The current Member of Parliament and former Shadow Work and Pensions secretary is standing for a fourth time, after increasing her majority each time. Earlier this year she backed a campaign for Labour to commit to a second referendum.
Paul Brierley – The Brexit Party
Brierley is a company director from Bolton, who believes the area has “enormous potential once Brexit has been delivered” and believes that the current MP is failing her constituents by prolonging the process to leave the EU.
https://twitter.com/brexitparty_uk
Paul Errock – Proud of Oldham and Saddleworth
Errock is standing for the local party that positions themselves as an alternative to the mainstream parties.
Sam al-Hamdani – Lib Dems
A councillor for the Lib Dems in Oldham, al-Hamdani describes himself as: “Designer, photographer, writer, improviser. As a Lib Dem candidate, the party’s main platform in this election is on stopping Brexit.
Tom Lord – Conservatives
As with all Conservative candidates, Lord has committed to voting through Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal. He has previously stood in local elections in 2018 and 2019, but never held an elected position.
https://twitter.com/OldhamTories
Wendy Olsen – Green
Olsen is an economic researcher at the University of Manchester focused on socioeconomics, gender roles, and international sustainable development. She also sits on the Green Party’s national economics advisory group and has spoken about the need for a Green New Deal, Basic Income and scrapping HS2.
https://twitter.com/Sandhyamma
Amoy Lindo – Independent
Lindo is standing as an independent in the constituency.
Ahead of polling day, here’s a look at the candidates in Oldham East and Saddleworth who are trying to overturn a once safe Labour seat #GeneralElection19 pic.twitter.com/RTdYlpC0o4
— matthew (@_mattsmith97) December 8, 2019
