Young and happy in Old and Sad
Three and a half months ago, I did a posting suggesting that what British politics now needed was a by-election. I pointed out:
“In the ‘old days’ of British politics, typically there used to be three or four by-elections a year. These days, Members of Parliament tend to be younger and healthier so there is less death or serious illness. But, of course, there’s always the chance of scandal or an MP wishing to spend more time with his or her family.”
So we had the scandal when Phil Woolas was ruled to have lied in the course of the General Election and was forced to give up the seat he ‘won’ with a majority of just 103. The constituency in question was, of course, Oldham East and Saddleworth which the media has dubbed Old and Sad.
The result of yesterday’s by-election is that Labour won it with a majority of 3,558 making 50-year old Debbie Abrahams a happy Member of Parliament. Turnout was down from 61.2% to 48.6%.
It was a good result for Labour but not a spectacular one and new leader Ed Milliband will be quietly pleased. The Liberals did not do as badly as they might have feared, but in normal circumstances would have walked this type of election. The Conservative vote collapsed but the Tories made no real effort in the constituency.
The local election in May will be a bigger and better test of the coalition’s unpopularity.