https://proudstars.blogspot.com/2015/12/labour-shrugs-off-corbyn-effect-to-win.html
Labour shrugs off Corbyn effect to win Oldham West by-election with 62% of the vote as Tory support collapses behind Ukip - and fuming Farage claims the 'postal vote was bent'
- Labour’s candidate Jim McMahon, 35, wins in Oldham West and Royton
- Troubled party unites behind popular father-of-two from moderate wing
- Jeremy Corbyn hails 'vote of confidence in party' after 11,000 majority
- Ukip leader Nigel Farage fumes over 'evidence postal voting was bent'
Labour retained one of its safest seats early this morning in a ‘lucky escape’ at the Oldham West and Royton by-election - winning with almost two-thirds of votes cast.
The Tory vote collapsed as Jeremy Corbyn’s beleaguered party took 62 per cent of the vote, an increased share compared with at the May General Election when it took 54.8 per cent.
Labour had feared losing thousands of voters in the by-election, caused by the death of former MP Michael Meacher, but retained the seat with a majority of almost 11,000 - a result hailed as a 'vote of confidence in our party' by Mr Corbyn.
Even as the votes were being counted, sources were suggesting Labour's majority could be as low as 1,000, but the party ended up having a much better night than expected.
Ukip, which was predicted to come a close second on the back of disaffected working class voters, failed to make serious inroads into Labour’s previous 15,000 majority, after the troubled party united behind Jim McMahon, a popular local candidate from its moderate wing.
Winner: Labour candidate Jim McMahon smiles with his partner Charlene Duerden at the Oldham West and Royton by-election count in the early hours of this morning
