Labour Party has proven successful in the by-election, as they have successfully secured their seat in Oldham West and Royton. The Labour candidate, Jim McMahon, shone as the majorities' favourite, having won 17,209 votes, while UKIP came second but not even marginally close with 6,487 votes- giving Labour a majority of 10,722.
One may predict that winning the by-election in Oldham, Labour could most probably securely become the next ruling party, garnering the overall majority votes in the 2020 General Election.
Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn has been a figure that is no doubt not ignorable. There are people who are die-hard fans of Corbyn, while there are others who outrightly despise his mere existence. Either way, such extreme, diverse emotions depict what sort of impact Corbyn has in British politics, as well as in the British society.
No doubt, Corbyn is a very popular and likely choice as the next British Prime Minister. Although there are many, civilians and politicians alike, who would declare his win as the devastation of United Kingdom, we cannot ignore that his popularity with the masses makes him a very qualifying candidate for the win. So much so that a group supporting Jeremy Corbyn had organised a campaign event in Lambeth, where activists called for Chuka Umunna, Labour MP for Streatham, to be sacked. Labour's Shadow Chancellor, warned that Umunna will bring dissenters “round to my way of thinking”.
While the Labour Party rejoiced the victory of MP Jim McMahon, the defeat of UKIP's candidate, John Bickley has not gone down well with his party; the party allegedly complained that the contest was “bent”.
The infamous UKIP leader, Nigel Farage expressed, “As a veteran of over 30 by-elections I have never seen such a perverse result.”
Paul Nuttal, deputy leader of UKIP claimed that postal votes had somehow “distorded the result.” He said, “We should go back to the old system where you had to give a good reason why you can't get off your backside and go down to a polling booth. That would make it fair again. That would make polling day actually mean something.”
Nigel Farage went a step further and blamed the “people who don't speak English” for UKIP's defeat. He said, “They don't speak English. UKIP does not get votes from people who do not speak English.”
This comment has not been taken lightly in Oldham, which has a large Pakistani and Bangladeshi community.
A 65-year-old resident of Oldham, Rizwaan Alim shared with Asian Voice, “I am glad a deserving candidate and a deserving party won the by-election in Oldham. UKIP's blaming their defeat on non-English speakers is totally absurd. It is their mindset that dissuades people from voting for them. It has nothing to do with language barriers.”
Alim further stated, “I have been living in Oldham for 46 years now. I am a proud British citizen and speak impeccable English. Just because I choose to speak my native language with my children and relatives does not mean that I am unable to speak English or refuse to integrate. It's the same with many Asian families. UKIP should learn this before making such a big statement.”
In response to Farage is claims, Jim McMahon simply stated, “There is nothing wrong with people making a democratic decision not to support UKIP.” In other words, Oldham made the right choice for electing Labour.
