Meacher proud of 11th victory

Veteran Michael Meacher holds on to his seat

RICHARD HOOTON, KAREN DOHERTY, JANICE BARKER & MIKE ATTENBOROUGH

ELECTION 2010

MICHAEL Meacher secured an 11th election victory with only a minor dent to his majority.

And Oldham’s longest-serving MP ins history has not ruled out standing again at the next election.

But the 70-year-old Labour MP, first elected in 1970 and Environment Minister from 1997 to 2003, insists he is never complacent about retaining his seat.

The result was declared at 6am with Mr Meacher polling 19,503, with his majority down by 1,107 to 9,352.

He said: “Obviously, I’m pleased because not only am I enabled to continue to have this privileged role in representing Oldham in parliament, the fact was that it’s a very good result for Labour in Oldham West.

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For all the results, click here

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The swing against me was not major, in fact it was about 1 per cent, one of the smallest swings anywhere in the country.”

Mr Meacher put the success down to the hard work of his office team which has helped thousands of Oldhamers over the years.

He added it was also down to “the organisation of our campaign and I like to think my reputation as an independent, radical-minded representative of Oldham has played a part.”

Mr Meacher put his longevity down to Oldham being a fine Labour town with a deep Labour culture due to its industrial past — which he was fortunate to inherit.

Asked if he would stand again in the future, he replied: “I’ve not thought that far forward. It depends on my health and the views of my party. I’m not just there to draw a salary but I have a contribution to make.”

During his victory speech, Mr Meacher thanked his supporters, friends, colleagues and everyone who voted for him.

He said national predictions of a landslide against Labour had proved unfounded and it was an honourable result for a government of 13 years.

He added it was a profound honour and the greatest privilege of his life to represent the people of Oldham. The turnout rose from 53.5 per cent to 59.7 per cent with Mr Meacher delighted to see more people voting.

Kamran Ghafoor defended second place for the Conservatives with 10,151 votes — up by more than 2,000.

He said: “I’m quite disappointed but thankful to the 10,151 people who voted for me and wanted a change for Oldham.

“It’s a good result and we have not had a result like that for a long time. Next time I will go for the win.”

Lib-Dem Mark Alcock was disappointed not to get second after polling 8,193 — an increase of more than 600.

He said: “It’s been a long campaign and a lot of hard work has gone into it.

“It’s a credible result. I’m really proud to stand for the Lib-Dems here and we have increased our share of the vote and we will keep working for the people as we are here to make a real difference across Oldham. I will be standing again.”

BNP candidate David Joines took fourth place with 3,049, followed by UKIP candidate Helen Roberts with 1,387 and Respect Party candidate Shahid Miah with 627.