Oldham Council Election Results: Live

Here’s the Saddleworth News liveblog of the borough council count in Oldham, as it happened!

5:35am: That’s it for tonight! I’ll be back at 10am for the Saddleworth Parish Council count.

The jubilant Labour team celebrate taking control of Oldham Council.

I’ll write some news articles, featuring results, pictures and interviews, after it’s all over!

5:30am: In Saddleworth, the three main parties took a councillor each. Lib Dem Derek Heffernan clung on in Saddleworth North by 17 votes, Conservative Graham Sheldon took Saddleworth South, and Labour’s Adrian Alexander won Saddleworth West and Lees at the expense of senior Lib Dem Brian Lord.

5:25am: So, the state of the parties on Oldham Council after all that is Labour 34, Liberal Democrats 21, Conservatives 4 and one Independent.

5:20am: The final results are in. Derek Heffernan held Saddleworth North by 17 votes over Independent Ken Hulme after two recounts. He told me he was “very relieved” but added that he was “sad” so many of his Lib Dem colleagues had been defeated.

A relieved Derek Heffernan after his victory.

One of those senior Lib Dems is Kay Knox, the Cabinet member losing her Waterhead seat to Labour.

5am: A huge shock in Saddleworth West and Lees, as Lib Dem Cabinet member Brian Lord loses his seat to Labour’s Adrian Alexander!

4:55am: Just grabbed a word with senior Lib Dem Mark Alcock, narrowly re-elected in Shaw. He said the party “hasn’t been wiped out” in Oldham, and therefore hadn’t suffered as it has done in some other parts of the UK tonight.

4:45am: Three more Labour gains to report, two from the Lib Dems in Hollinwood and Coldhurst, and another from the Conservatives in Chadderton Central, where Tory group leader Jack Hulme’s wife Eileen was defeated.

4:35am: First Saddleworth result in, and it’s a strong gain in Saddleworth South for Uppermill sub-postmaster and Conservative candidate Graham Sheldon. Result: Lab 695 LD 1094 Con 1590 Green 401. The Lib Dem monopoly on Saddleworth is broken.

Elsewhere, Labour hold both Failsworth West and Failsworth East, the latter with a huge majority for Jim McMahon.

4:30am: Turnout figures revealed. Strong in Saddleworth, with 46.95% in Saddleworth North, 48.1% in Saddleworth South, 37.3% in Saddleworth West and Lees.

4:25am: Reports of a recount in Saddleworth North. Lib Dem Derek Heffernan apparently just 17 votes ahead of Independent Ken Hulme!

4:15am: First three results include two Labour gains in St James and Chadderton North. Senior Lib Dem Mark Alcock just hangs on in Shaw.

4am: Labour leader Jim McMahon, who at 30 is to become the youngest council leader in the country, has told me he is feeling “humble” at the prospect of taking over Oldham Council.

Labour leader Jim McMahon, the next leader of Oldham Council, speaks to reporters.

He added that Labour would look to bring forward an emergency budget, and said that reversing the previous administration’s decision to privatise aspects of elderly care would be a priority for his party in power.

3:45am: Reports from the counting floor suggest Lib Dem Derek Heffernan has indeed held on in Saddleworth North. That would make the projected state of the parties after tonight: Labour 33, Lib Dems 22, Conservatives 4, Independent 1.

3:30am: No sign of any actual declarations yet, but St James ward may well be the first to declare when the time comes. Observers from the parties are looking at doubtful ballots at that table now.

Labour still seem to be on course for six gains – St James, Hollinwood, Coldhurst and Waterhead from the Lib Dems, and Chadderton North and Central from the Tories. The Conservatives have apparently picked up Saddleworth South from the Lib Dems, although Lib Dem Derek Heffernan may just have held off Independent Ken Hulme in Saddleworth North.

2:45am: Counting is about to start, at last! There’s been a hold-up involving the central verification of the AV ballots at the unit in Manchester, and that is still going on, so there won’t be any declarations until that is sorted out.

2:35am: Apparently, Saddleworth News has been quoted on Radio 4’s election coverage as a “reliable source.” That’s cheered me up, but there are plenty of frustrated people around here as we continue to wait.

Counting!

Labour candidates and supporters don’t seem to be minding the delay quite so much though!

2:25am: Lots of grumbling about how long this is taking. Almost four and a half hours since the polls closed, we still haven’t seen a single vote actually counted.

2:05am: A bit of a speculation update, in lieu of any real results. Labour sources are now predicting gains from the Conservatives in both Chadderton North and Chadderton Central, which, if they make their four expected gains from the Lib Dems elsewhere, could put them on 33 seats at the end of tonight.

But there’s some doubt about whether Independent Ken Hulme has taken Saddleworth North after all. The suggestion is Lib Dem Derek Heffernan could still pull it out, that could be the most interesting individual result to look out for later on.

1:40am: The elaborate process involving these AV votes does seem to have really snarled things up. Lots of people getting a bit tired and fed up with it all here. I just asked someone in the know if there was an update on when we might get some results, and got a big shrug of the shoulders in response!

1:10am: Returning officer Charlie Parker has taken to the podium to say the verification has been slowed up by all the votes for the AV Referendum, which won’t be counted until tomorrow. He’s told counters in the wards which are ahead to help those in the busier wards once they are finished.

Mr Parker, who is also the chief executive of Oldham Council, is wearing a red tie. And he seems certain to be working with a red administration after tonight’s results are eventually known.

1am: No sign of any actual results yet. Hopefully once they finish the lengthy verification process and actually start counting, it shouldn’t take too long before we get some proper news to report on.

12:30am: Speculation is mounting about the three Saddleworth wards, and it could be that we have winners from three different parties tonight.

Lib Dem leader Howard Sykes speaks to Radio Manchester.

Conservative Graham Sheldon has told me it’s looking “good” for him in Saddleworth South, although he expects it to be close as he tries to beat Lib Dem Phil Renold. He added that Dominic Wall of the Greens appeared to have put in a good showing, which may have taken support away from the Lib Dems.

Meanwhile, in Saddleworth North, Independent Ken Hulme is the strong favourite to win, which would be another loss for the Lib Dems. However, senior Lib Dem Brian Lord appears likely to hang on in Saddleworth West and Lees.

Overall, Labour remain quietly confident of picking up the seats they need to take overall control. Lib Dem leader Howard Sykes has been giving interviews, and is sounding downbeat about his party’s prospects of holding on to power.

11:45pm: It’s interesting to see how certain wards are clearly more important to the parties than others.

Lots of interest at the Coldhurst table.

One of Labour’s key targets tonight is Coldhurst, which they’re hoping to gain from the Lib Dems. There are 24 observers at the table watching the vote verification! That’s 22 more than on the nearby Chadderton South table.

11:30pm: Just had the first sight of Labour group leader Jim McMahon. He should win re-election in his own Failsworth East ward easily enough, but it’s the job of council leader he really wants. As he walked into the hall and began chatting to a couple of supporters, he started biting his nails. Just a few yards away, his Lib Dem rival Howard Sykes was frantically chewing on some gum, as he has been throughout the night so far. Getting a bit tense on the counting floor, even though the results are still at least a couple of hours away.

11pm: As the process of vote verification takes place, most of Oldham borough’s leading political personalities are in the Queen Elizabeth Hall now, either acting as observers themselves or milling around having a chat.

The vote verification takes place.

Lib Dem leader Howard Sykes is among those here, although one of his colleagues told me the other day it would be a “miracle” if Labour doesn’t take control of the council tonight. As for Labour, they’ve been careful not to appear too over-confident about their chance, and have only been saying that they are “optimistic” of making the four gains they need to re-take the council.

10:30pm: The votes have arrived and the verification process has begun. Observers from all parties are looking on, with plenty of Lib Dems in particular in evidence at this early stage.

Returning officer Charlie Parker gives final instructions to the counters in the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

With all the AV and parish votes to verify as well as the borough council ones, we’re not expecting any results until 1:30am at the earliest, and the last ones may not be confirmed until nearer 4am, or possibly even later if there’s a recount. So it’s all fairly relaxed here at the moment, a far cry from the chaos and excitement of the count for the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election back in January.

Preamble: Welcome to the Queen Elizabeth Hall in Oldham for live coverage of the results in this year’s borough council election. The three Saddleworth wards have been closely contested during the campaign, and there’s also the finely balanced political situation across Oldham to consider, so it should be a dramatic evening!

Liberal Democrat Derek Heffernan is defending his Saddleworth North seat.

The big question for tonight is really: how bad is it going to be for the Liberal Democrats? The party’s national popularity has plummeted since it joined the government with the Conservatives a year ago, and it seems inevitable the Lib Dems will suffer some losses here tonight.

But, on the other hand, the party’s share of the vote held up in January’s Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election, so it’s possible this area, with its long-standing record of support for the Lib Dems and Liberals, could defy the national trend.

The Lib Dems are defending all three Saddleworth wards, but could end up losing one, two or even all three of them. The closest battle seems likely to be in Saddleworth North, where Derek Heffernan’s 16 years on the borough council may be brought to an end by Independent parish councillor Ken Hulme.

Cllr Hulme came very close to defeating Lib Dem Alan Roughley in the ward last year, and the general feeling amont most neutral observers is that he is the favourite to take the seat this time. The ward covers Delph, Dobcross, Diggle, Denshaw, Scouthead and Austerlands.

In Saddleworth South, Christine Wheeler is not defending her seat, so Phil Renold has the job of holding it for the Lib Dems. Conservative Graham Sheldon is his main opponent, and the Tories have put all their effort in Saddleworth into the ward, which covers Uppermill, Greenfield, Grasscroft, Friezland and Lydgate. The Lib Dems are concerned the presence of a Green candidate on the ballot might swing the result towards the Conservatives.

Brian Lord in Saddleworth West and Lees is the Lib Dem who should be safest of the three, having enjoyed a majority of 824 when he was last elected in 2007. As a member of the council’s Cabinet he would be the biggest scalp were he to lose, and it’s Labour’s Adrian Alexander who is likely to be the strongest challenger.

Ken Hulme. Will the independent from Delph be celebrating tonight?

The results in the three Saddleworth wards may have a decisive impact on the overall political control of Oldham Council, too. The council has been run by the Lib Dems since 2008, and since last year that’s been in coalition with the small Tory group.

Following the recent defection of Len Quinn from the Conservatives to Labour, the state of the parties is Labour 28, Lib Dems 27, Conservatives four and one Independent.

However, Cllr Quinn is not standing again in his Chadderton North seat, so in effect the Conservatives are still defending there tonight. In total, Labour and the Lib Dems are defending nine seats apiece, with the Tories the incumbent party in two.

If Labour can make four gains, it will seize overall control of the council for the first time since it last ran the authority, between 2003 and 2008.

By way of comparison, you can see the results from 2007 by clicking here. Labour leader Jim McMahon is up in Failsworth East, while key Labour targets include Hollinwood and Coldhurst.

Full Saddleworth News coverage of the Oldham Council campaign can be read here.

And remember, the Saddleworth Parish Council election count doesn’t take place until Friday at 10am. Look out for full coverage of that here then! As for tonight, updates will be posted at the top of this article, so hit F5 to refresh your screen for the latest news.

Author: Jude Gidney - Editor

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