Oldham East and Saddleworth

Oldham East and Saddleworth County constituency
Oldham East and Saddleworth shown within Greater Manchester, and Greater Manchester shown within England
Created:	1997
MP:	Phil Woolas
Party:	Labour
Type:	House of Commons
County:	Greater Manchester
EP constituency:	North West England

Oldham East and Saddleworth is a constituency in Greater Manchester represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Boundaries

The constituency is one of three covering the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, covering the eastern part of the borough. It contains the east of the town of Oldham itself, the Shaw and Crompton and Saddleworth areas, including the villages of Denshaw, Greenfield and Uppermill. It also covers the Milnrow area of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale.

In terms of area, Oldham East and Saddleworth is the largest constituency in Greater Manchester.

History

The seat was established in 1997, from parts of the former Littleborough and Saddleworth and Oldham Central and Royton constituencies. Whilst Oldham Central and Royton was a safe Labour seat, Littleborough and Saddleworth had been held by the Conservatives until a 1995 by-election, when it was lost to the Liberal Democrats.

Since the 1997 general election, the seat has been a Labour/Liberal Democrat marginal. Although Phil Woolas of Labour (who was their defeated candidate in the 1995 by-election) has been victorious in all three general elections since then, his majorities have not been substantial and the Conservative vote has slipped significantly.

The constituency gained notoriety at the 2001 general election, when the far-right British National Party gained over 5,000 votes (an 11.2% share), retaining their deposit. Along with the BNP's showing in the neighbouring Oldham West and Royton constituency, this was widely interpreted as a reaction to the race riots that took place in Oldham a few months earlier (see Oldham Riots). At the 2005 election, this was less of an issue, and the BNP's share of the vote dropped to 4.9%, although this was still larger than most other constituencies.

At the next election the seat will lose the Milnrow ward to Rochdale constituency and gain part of Alexandra from Oldham West. There will also be some minor changes to reflect the new ward boundaries.

In the most recent local elections, held in May 2008, the Liberal Democrats pulled off the remarkable feat of winning all nine wards in the newly reconfigured constituency. This is believed to be the first time that any party have achieved this in any Parliamentary seat within Oldham MBC.

Members of Parliament

Election results

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater Manchester

Coordinates: 53°36′N 2°06′W / 53.6°N 2.1°W / 53.6; -2.1