The race is on

ON your marks . . . fitness instructor Fay Brierley gives out the orders to Elwyn Watkins (left) and Chris Huhne

A CLOSE win is what Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, predicts for Liberal Democrat candidate Elwyn Watkins at Thursday’s by-election.

Mr Huhne, who was visiting the borough for the third time since campaigning began, said: “It’s going to be neck and neck between us and Labour but we don’t want a repeat of last time.

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“We want 103 votes with Elwyn in the lead, every vote is going to count. I’m very confident that we are in a very tight two-horse race with Conservative support falling away.”

Mr Huhne visited Oldham Leisure Centre, which is set to have a new wood pellet burning biomass boiler installed when it is redeveloped, before going canvassing with Mr Watkins.

Cash for the Government’s Warm Front scheme, which gives grants towards insulation to low-income families, the elderly and the disabled, was frozen by the Government in December.

Mr Huhne denied that cutting cash would force more Oldham residents into fuel poverty.

He said: “From April, this will be a much better scheme. We are going to be providing people with Green Deal renovations for their homes which will be more effective than Warm Front.

“Labour had no effective means of tackling fuel poverty.”