Use your vote! Make your voice heard at the polls

Make your vote count tomorrow

OLDHAM comes sharply into national focus tomorrow when residents in the west of the borough decide who will succeed the much=admired Michael Meacher as their MP.

The polling stations open at 7am across Oldham West and Royton in a by-election caused by the sudden death of Mr Meacher - an election given added political significance as the first since Jeremy Corbyn became leader of the Labour party.

The main parties’ activists have been working hard on the doorsteps to shore up support or get people to change their allegiance.

Tonight the Chronicle urges the 76,000-plus eligible voters to get out and put their cross on the ballot form to show the country that Oldham does care.

This newspaper does not tell Oldhamers who to vote for but has consistently championed the democratic process. The last thing we want to show the country is a desperately low poll that puts apathy and indifference at the top of the agenda.

Yes, it is December and yes, it will be tempting, on a damp, dark evening, to stay at home. But voting takes minutes. The polling stations are never far away and are open until 10pm.

The new Member of Parliament will be YOUR representative for at least the next four years and can, and often will, make a telling contribution to local issues.

Oldham wants to improve as a town. There are many businesses and individuals striving for this to happen. We need to engage the public in the issues of the day, and the growing emergence of the “DevoManc” debate and devolved powers for the North makes it even more important that we understand how such decisions in the political arena affect our lives.

The right to vote was hard fought for.

Please use it.