Cameron And Clegg Confirm By-Election Visits

David Cameron on a visit to Holmfirth earlier this year. (picture: Nick Pickles)

Both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister have announced they will be visiting our area to campaign in the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election. David Cameron told a news conference in Downing Street today that he’d be coming in the new year, while Nick Clegg said he’d be here tomorrow.

In response to reports that the Conservatives haven’t been putting their full weight behind their candidate Kashif Ali, because a victory for Liberal Democrat Elwyn Watkins might be better for the coalition overall, Mr Cameron said: “I’m very clear that I’m going to be going to the by-election.”

He added: “Prime Ministers don’t always go to by-elections, in fact they don’t often go to by-elections, and I will be going and I’ll be supporting the Conservative candidate.”

When challenged by a reporter on whether he knew the name of the candidate, Mr Cameron replied: “Yes I do, Kashif Ali. He’s a very good candidate. He fought the last election, in fact the biggest swing in the constituency was actually to him at the last election.”

Nick Clegg in Marsden during the general election campaign.

Mr Clegg also weighed in to show off his local knowledge: “Elwyn Watkins… lost by a handful of votes, and was wronged by the Labour MP.” That’s a reference to Phil Woolas, who was stripped of his general election victory for telling lies about Mr Watkins in campaign leaflets, which is why we’re having a by-election.

The Deputy PM said the coalition arrangement between the Tories and Lib Dems would have a “knock-on effect” on how elections such as this one are fought, but added: “It doesn’t mean you lose your identity, it doesn’t mean you lose your independence, it doesn’t mean you don’t campaign against each other.”

Mr Clegg also said that he expected this campaign to be fought “a little more politely” than some other by-elections, adding: “Compared to the record of some recent by-elections it won’t be difficult to meet that test.”

Meanwhile, Labour have accused the Conservatives of treating the voters here with “total disrespect so far.” In a statement, the party’s campaign manager and Hartlepool MP Iain Wright said the Tories had “colluded with the Lib Dems in their party political stunt to hold a by-election campaign during the Christmas holidays, and now they are saying they aren’t campaigning because it’s not socially convenient for them.”

He flagged up comments made earlier on BBC Radio Manchester by his Conservative counterpart, and Pendle MP, Andrew Stephenson, who admitted his party hadn’t “been out as proactively as perhaps the Lib Dems or Labour thus far.” Mr Stephenson suggested it was difficult to force Tories from elsewhere in the country to visit our area to help the campaign because of family commitments over Christmas.

Labour leader Ed Miliband has already made a campaign visit here. And you can read a Saddleworth News interview with him here.

Nominations for the by-election close on Thursday, and that’s also the deadline if you want to register to vote, or apply for a postal vote. Polling day is 13 January.

The candidates we know about so far are, in alphabetical order, Debbie Abrahams for Labour, Kashif Ali for the Conservatives, Peter Allen of the Greens, Nick “The Flying Brick” Delves from the Monster Raving Loony Party, the Pirate Party UK’s Loz Kaye, BNP leader Nick Griffin, Stephen Morris of the English Democrats, UKIP’s Paul Nuttall, and Liberal Democrat Elwyn Watkins.

For full coverage of the by-election so far from Saddleworth News, click here.

Author: Jude Gidney - Editor

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