Oldham West (UK Parliament constituency)

Oldham West was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Oldham in the north-west of Greater Manchester. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Oldham West
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
Oldham West in Greater Manchester, showing boundaries used from 1983–1997
1950–1997
Seats	one
Created from	Oldham
Replaced by	Oldham West and Royton, Ashton-under-Lyne

The constituency was created for the 1950 general election, and abolished for the 1997 general election.

History

Boundaries

Oldham West in Lancashire, boundaries used 1974–1983

1950–1983: The County Borough of Oldham wards of Coldhurst, Hartford, Hollinwood, Werneth, and Westwood, and the Urban District of Chadderton.

1983–1997: The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham wards of Chadderton Central, Chadderton North, Chadderton South, Failsworth East, Failsworth West, Hollinwood, and Werneth.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[1]	Party	Notes
	1950	Leslie Hale	Labour	Previously MP for Oldham from 1945. Resigned May 1968
	1968 by-election	Bruce Campbell	Conservative
	1970	Michael Meacher	Labour	Subsequently, MP for Oldham West and Royton
	1997	constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Oldham West^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Leslie Hale	22,533	47.6
	Conservative	Ian Horobin	17,740	37.5
	Liberal	James Taylor Middleton	6,635	14.0
	Communist	W. Mawdsley	438	0.9
Majority			4,793	10.1
Turnout			47,346	85.1
	Labour win (new seat)

General election 1951: Oldham West^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Leslie Hale	23,712	50.4	+2.8
	Conservative	John Grigg	19,517	41.5	+4.0
	Liberal	Philip Fothergill	3,823	8.1	−5.9
Majority			4,195	8.9	−1.2
Turnout			47,052	84.8	−0.3
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Oldham West^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Leslie Hale	23,164	54.6	+4.2
	Conservative	John Grigg	19,265	45.4	+3.9
Majority			3,899	9.2	+0.3
Turnout			42,429	78.1	−7.7
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1959: Oldham West^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Leslie Hale	22,624	55.0	+0.4
	Conservative	John Sutcliffe	18,505	45.0	−0.4
Majority			4,119	10.0	+0.8
Turnout			41,129	79.3	+1.2
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Oldham West^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Leslie Hale	21,588	58.8	+3.8
	Conservative	William Arthur Bromley-Davenport	15,152	41.2	−3.8
Majority			6,436	17.6	+7.6
Turnout			36,740	75.1	−4.2
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1966: Oldham West^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Leslie Hale	20,648	61.2	+2.4
	Conservative	Bruce Campbell	13,076	38.8	−2.4
Majority			7,572	22.4	+4.8
Turnout			33,724	72.4	−2.7
	Labour hold		Swing

1968 Oldham West by-election^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bruce Campbell	11,904	46.5	+7.7
	Labour	Michael Meacher	8,593	33.6	−27.6
	All Party Alliance	John Creasey	3,389	13.2	New
	Liberal	David Green	1,707	6.7	New
Majority			3,311	12.9	N/A
Turnout			25,593
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+17.7

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Oldham West^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Meacher	16,062	48.1	−13.1
	Conservative	Bruce Campbell	14,387	43.1	+4.3
	Liberal	Brian Lomax	2,944	8.8	New
Majority			1,675	5.0	−17.4
Turnout			33,393	67.0	−5.4
	Labour hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Oldham West^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Meacher	17,933	48.4	+0.3
	Conservative	David Trippier	11,628	31.4	−11.7
	Liberal	Anthony Limont	7,505	20.3	+11.5
Majority			6,305	17.0	+12.0
Turnout			37,066	77.8	+10.8
	Labour hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Oldham West^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Meacher	18,444	53.2	+4.8
	Conservative	David Trippier	10,407	30.0	−1.4
	Liberal	K. Stocks	5,838	16.8	−3.5
Majority			8,037	23.2	+6.2
Turnout			34,689	72.2	−5.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.1

General election 1979: Oldham West^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Meacher	17,802	52.4	−0.8
	Conservative	J. Smith	12,025	35.4	+5.4
	Liberal	K. Stocks	3,604	10.6	−6.2
	National Front	G. Halliwell	515	1.5	New
Majority			5,777	17.0	−6.2
Turnout			33,946	72.6	+0.4
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Oldham West^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Meacher	17,690	44.1	−8.3
	Conservative	David Dickinson	14,510	36.2	+0.8
	Liberal	Rodney A. M. Smith	7,745	19.3	+8.7
	Independent	James Street	180	0.5	New
Majority			3,180	7.9	−9.1
Turnout			40,125	69.9	−2.7
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1987: Oldham West^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Meacher	20,291	49.4	+5.3
	Conservative	Joan Jacobs	14,324	34.9	−1.3
	Liberal	Mary Mason	6,478	15.8	−3.5
Majority			5,967	14.5	+6.6
Turnout			41,093	71.9	+2.0
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Oldham West^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Meacher	21,580	52.8	+3.4
	Conservative	Jonathan Gillen	13,247	32.4	−2.5
	Liberal Democrats	John D. Smith	5,525	13.5	−2.3
	Natural Law	Sheila Dalling	551	1.3	New
Majority			8,333	20.4	+5.9
Turnout			40,903	75.6	+3.7
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.9