TEN candidates will battle it out to take over from Labour’s disgraced former immigration minister Phil Woolas in the January 13 by-election.
They have thrown their hat in the ring for the Oldham East and Saddleworth seat — matching the record set in the 1995 by-election.
Nominations closed at 4pm on December 23 for the vacancy after Phil Woolas was stripped of the seat which he scraped in by only 103 votes in May.
An historic election court held in Uppermill in September — the first for 99 years — found that Mr Woolas had deliberately lied about closest rival Elwyn Watkins.
Mr Watkins will once again try to win the marginal for the Lib-Dems, while public health consultant Debbie Abrahams, who contested Colne Valley for Labour in 2010, will battle it out for her party.
The Conservatives, who last won the seat (then called Littleborough and Saddleworth) in 1992, are sticking with barrister and former Hulme Grammar School pupil Kashif Ali, who came third in the May General Election.
UKIP’s North West Euro-MP Paul Nuttall, a former university lecturer from Merseyside, will stand, as will the Green Party’s Peter Allen, who fought High Peak last year.
Manchester publican Derek Adams represents the BNP, and Stephen Morris from Bury the English Democrats.
The other candidates are: Pirate Party leader Loz Kaye, a teacher at Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts; Monster Raving Loony Party’s Flying Brick (Nick Delves), and David Bishop from the Bus-Pass Elvis Party.
The new constituency was first won by Mr Woolas in 1997, the night Tony Blair’s New Labour swept to power.
Voters will use 56 polling stations across Oldham East and Saddleworth on January 13.
| Party | No. of Candidates | No. of Pitches Submitted | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| BNP | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| Labour | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| Conservative | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| Ofricial Monster Raving Loony Party | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| Liberal Democrat | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| Bus-Pass Elvis Party | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| UKIP | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| English Democrats | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| Green | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| Pirate Party | 1 | 1 | 100% |
1.On election day, go to your local polling station. If you are disabled and will need assistance getting into the polling station, contact the electoral registration office to find out what help is available. If you require assistance in completing the ballot paper, you may take a companion with you when you vote or the staff in the polling station may help you.
2.Tell the staff inside the polling station your name and address so they can check that you are on the electoral register. You can show them your poll card, but you do not need it to vote.
3.The staff at the polling station will give you a ballot paper listing the parties and candidates you can vote for. It will be printed with an official mark. If you have a visual impairment, you can ask for a special voting device that allows you to vote on your own in secret.
4.Take your ballot paper into a polling booth so that no one can see how you vote. Mark a cross (X) in the box to the right of the name of the party or candidate you want to vote for. Do not write anything else on the paper or your vote may not be counted.
5.Finally, when you have marked your vote, fold the ballot paper in half and put it in the ballot box. Do not let anyone see your vote. If you are not clear on what to do, ask the staff at the polling station to help you.
Electoral Registration Office:
Elections Office
Room 222
Civic Centre
West Street
Oldham OL1 1UL
Tel: 0161 770 4712/8
E-mail: election@oldham.gov.uk
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