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Brown hits town to win key votes
Reporter: DAWN MARSDEN
Date online: 28 April 2010
GORDON Brown visited Oldham today during a whistle-stop tour of the North-West to bolster support in key marginal seats.
The Prime Minister spoke of Labour’s hard-hitting plans to fight crime and mocked policing cuts proposed by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats in their manifestos.
Mr Brown visited the VIP Centre in Vulcan Street, Derker — which houses the control room for the council’s security services — before going to the Honeywell Community Centre in Hadfield Street, Hathershaw. Mr Brown’s visit comes the day before he takes part in the third and final televised leaders’ debate on the economy with David Cameron and Nick Clegg.
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The PM in oldham: Picture special
in tomorrow's Chronicle
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The historic debates have so far seen the leaders lock horns on domestic issues and foreign policy.
Immigration Minister Phil Woolas, Labour candidate for Oldham East and Saddleworth, Michael Meacher, Labour candidate for Oldham West and Royton, along with Justice Secretary Jack Straw accompanied Mr Brown on the visit.
Oldham East and Saddleworth is a key marginal for Labour, a seat the party holds with a slender majority of 3,590 and which it fears it may lose to Liberal Democrat hopeful Elwyn Watkins.
Following his Oldham visit, Mr Brown was heading off on the campaign trail to Rochdale.
The latest polls show the Tories ahead with 34 per cent while Labour and the Lib-Dems trail on 29 per cent and 28 per cent respectively with 9 per cent still undecided.
This is the second time the Prime Minister has been to Oldham this year. Last month he visited the £17 million Christie Cancer Centre at the Royal Oldham Hospital.
Mr Brown was shown round the pioneering radiotherapy centre which was backed by £100,000 raised in record time by Chronicle readers.
Catch up with the candidates at www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/elections/
Comments
Lols. Showed his true colours in Rochdale calling a lady a biggot for daring to ask about immigration and therefore showing once again his and labours true colours
Oh dear, I think he's 'lost' a great many votes after his unguarded comments about a Labour supporter being a bigot. And what a hoot to see Woolas toadying at his side and grinning like he thinks he'll be back in power - dream on Phil you'll soon be paying for your food out of your own pocket.
Having just listened to Brown's comments regarding a woman in Rochdale, and his weak excuses, has he similarly insulted anyone in Oldham? I don't think Brown is unique in this and I wonder what the other would be PMs & MPs say when the public aren't around. Yet another example of how the political class view the voters. Disgraceful.
oh dear! it looks like we'll be getting him yet again for another term the way things are going.
sadly the people of oldham have become sheep.
oldham was destroyed by labours rule, its not fairing any better with the lib dems.
so why are we still voting for incompetance?
the tories are unknown here and the fact that we see and get very little from our recents councils means they cant be as bad as these failures we've already had.
While I understand that the Prime Minister needs security and protection, I don't see why all the traffic was held up on Broadway just so he could get to the airport quickly.
He jumped the lights at Middleton Road while officers held up traffic. Considering that this is an election campain and not official Government Business, it is an abuse of power. He should be done for both speeding and jumping a red light.
well he put his foot in it big time in rochdale he needs to remember to unplug his mike next time
He visited the VIP centre. The place where we are a spied on by the council and police. The surveillance state is one of his most favoured policy. And then he went off to Rochdale to insult someone who dared to ask him questions. He then went back to try to make out that he didn't mean what he said. The man is an insulting rude liar. Perhaps that makes him best suited to be prime minister!
Following his Oldham visit, Mr Brown was heading off on the campaign trail to Rochdale. Where his vile temper and abusive language towards a prospective voter, allowed us to see the truth beneath the ever so thin veneer of lies and empty promises. Brown, Meacher, Woolas and Straw! What a repulsive quartet! Deceit, Lies, Theft and Cowardice. Any which way you want!
Sad to hear Gordon Browns comments about the pensioner who asked him the questions we all wanted answers for in Rochdale today. Well done to the lady for standing up for the local people. Shame on Gordon Brown for calling her a bigot. I think that uncalled for comment has just lost Brown any chance he had of winning this election.
This was before Brown dropped the Bog Clanger in Rochdale <g> Woolas must be desperate to have his boss here twice.
With a week to go to the election,the full sickening edifice of stage-managed, populist electioneering washes over the country. Give it another two weeks, and we'll be back to the same old contemptible standing in which the majority of politicians hold us!!!
Who cares? Not me; I've voted...Labour ...because I care enough. (Postal votes)
'Let him who has not sinned cast the first stone'. Yes, it was a gaffe but how many have you (us) have been two-faced at some time? No doubt Cameron and Clegg are just as guilty but, unfortunately, GB had his mike on. Silly mistake!
The trouble is too many people are going for 'personalities' and not policies.
I see a few Mp and politicians have visted Oldham over these last few days, do they think Oldham consits of Shaw, Sadleworth and Richdale, what about Hollins, Limeside and Bardsley, Oh that's it we're not high profile enough are we but we still have a view and a VOTE, look further afield Mr Brown and see what other Oldhamers want.
Put simply,the likes of Brown are so far away from day to day society they really do not have any idea of what is happening in this country. Ask him to live on a council estate with a high percentage of immigrants for 6 months and see if he feels any different. There are no issues if you live in a mansion tucked away in the countryside.
Well at least we now know where the diktat for labelling anyone who raised the issue of immigration as racist came from. Exposes NuLabour totally and shows why they have allowed the borders to be unguarded and numbers to be uncontrolled.
Ironic that in the last TV debate it was Brown who raised the issue of what was said on camera and off camera.
Brown has been avoiding the immigration issue for some time now.
all he says is that its good for this country?
im still trying to figure out how the mass immigration we've seen has been good.
the majority of migrant workers have brought families over. which has put an extra burden of schools, healthcare and local services. these have all had to receive extra funding because of this.
we've has massive unemployment in recent months and many firms have kept on the migrant workers
so now there is another burden on the system with all the unemployed workers claiming benefits.
now yes there are some brits out there who are not willing to work and would rather stay at home doing nothing with their lives. which is is partly the reason we've had to rely on migrant workers to do the jobs these scroungers think are below them.
but if that is the case then dont give them a penny more! maybe then this money can be spent propping up the over burdened services that are struggling.
In the last century Oldhamers rioted against Irish immigrants (Duffys?) When I was a boy it was the Displaced Persons(DPs) from Europe who got discriminated against. Then we had Caribbeans, Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis all for a while at the bottom of the pile. More recently we've had Kossovans and Poles stigmatised.
It makes some people happy to find a reason to look down on their fellow men. Such people are not amenable to reason. There's a word for them.
Jack Schofield
We've all, at some time, in the heat of the moment said something that we don't mean and immediately regreted it. He has shown himself to be human and then apologised.
These 'game show' debates have degraded the election progress and have taken voters' attention away from policies. Brown has proved himself to be the best person to guide our country through the economic crisis. Let him and Alastair Darling get on with it.
Yes, I agree Alice. It's like a reality show and we all know the winners are usually second-raters the public take to. Nothing to do with intelligence. Vote on policy not personality.
Have Your Say
Well, after his 'bigot' gaffe in Rochdale, the P.M. has got his work cut out to repair the damage.
His public and private persona's will surely now be called into question and no amount of grovelling apology will gloss over the cracks.
It's an unenviable task, in the first place.
By spike @ 28/04/2010 13:27:51