UKIP campaign claim denied

Michael Meacher

LABOUR has denied it is campaigning for the Oldham West and Royton by-election even before the funeral of the late, long-serving MP Michael Meacher.

Activists were delivering leaflets on Saturday to “commemorate the exceptional Michael Meacher’s work for Oldham”, which included tributes from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Oldham Council leader Jim McMahon and Oldham Mayor Councillor Ateeque Ur-Rehman.

The move has been criticised by UKIP for breaching convention which says campaigning should wait until after Mr Meacher’s funeral, which is on November 13.

But Councillor Zahid Chauhan, chairman of Oldham West and Royton Constituency Labour Party, said: “We wanted to join the people of Oldham in remembering the life and considerable achievements of Michael Meacher, and so produced a leaflet including tributes from colleagues and local people.

“We don’t even select our candidate until Thursday, so obviously we are not campaigning for them in this leaflet.”