On 9 October 2014, a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

was held for the UK parliamentary

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

of Heywood and Middleton. It was triggered by the death of its MP

Jim Dobbin James Dobbin (26 May 1941 – 6 September 2014) was a British Labour Co-operative politician and microbiologist who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Heywood and Middleton from 1997 until his death in 2014. Early life Jim Dobbin was ...

on 6 September 2014. It was held on the same day as the

Clacton by-election The 2014 by-election for the House of Commons constituency of Clacton in Essex, England, took place on 9 October 2014. The by-election was triggered by the Conservative MP for Clacton, Douglas Carswell, defecting to the UK Independence Party (UK ...

. The Labour Party narrowly held the seat following a

recount An election recount is a repeat tabulation of votes cast in an election that is used to determine the correctness of an initial count. Recounts will often take place if the initial vote tally during an election is extremely close. Election reco ...

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...

(UKIP) came second, and increased its vote by 36 percentage points since the previous general election.

Background

On 10 September 2014, it was announced that the election would be held on 9 October 2014. The nominations closed at 4pm on Tuesday 16 September. The

was held on the same day.

Campaign

Labour's decision to call for a by-election before Dobbin's funeral was criticised by

Paul Nuttall Paul Andrew Nuttall (born 30 November 1976) is a British politician who served as Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2016 to 2017. He was elected to the European Parliament in 2009 as a UK Independence Party (UKIP) candidate, and ...

and

Steven Woolfe Steven Marcus Woolfe (born 6 October 1967) is a British politician who was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North West England from 2014 until 2019. Woolfe was born in Moss Side in Manchester and studied law at Aberystwyth Unive ...

, UKIP MEPs for

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

, with the former describing it as "shoddy politics". Labour MP for

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

Toby Perkins Matthew Toby Perkins (born 12 August 1970) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Chesterfield since 2010. He has been Shadow Minister for Apprentices and Lifelong Learning since April 2020. Prev ...

defended the timing, saying "With the agreement of Jim's family, we have moved the writ today as it is vital that the people of Heywood & Middleton constituency are not left without representation for an extended period". UKIP candidate John Bickley distributed a leaflet in which he said "Labour's betrayal is no more apparent than with the young white working-class girls of

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

and

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

where rather than upset immigrant communities, years of abuse were ignored and complaints swept under the carpet". Of this the Labour MP for neighbouring

Simon Danczuk Simon Christopher Danczuk (; born 24 October 1966) is a British author and former Member of Parliament (MP) who represented the constituency of Rochdale between 2010 and 2017. He has co-written two books, ''Smile for the Camera: The Double Life ...

, said "It's now clear that UKIP will try and turn grooming and the death of Lee Rigby into a political football. They're playing politics with horrendous crimes that shocked Heywood and Middleton at a time when the wounds of these events are still healing in our town." During an interview on ''

Daily Politics ''Daily Politics'' was a BBC Television programme which aired between 6 January, 2003 and 24 July, 2018, presented by Andrew Neil and Jo Coburn. ''Daily Politics'' took an in-depth review of the daily events in both Westminster and other areas ...

'', after the leaflet was called "divisive" by his Labour opponent Liz McInnes, Bickley criticised McInnes for publishing a leaflet with the heading "WAITING TO DIE" after the death of

, saying it was landing on the doorsteps of the terminally ill.

Candidates

On 16 September 2014,

Rochdale Borough Council Rochdale Borough Council is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of ten in Greater Manchester and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England ...

published the statement of persons nominated, which confirmed five candidates would contest the by-election. Labour candidate Liz McInnes is a local councillor on

Rossendale Borough Council Rossendale may refer to several places and organizations in Lancashire, England: Places *Rossendale Valley, a river valley *Borough of Rossendale, a local government district *Rossendale (UK Parliament constituency), a former parliamentary constitu ...

. The Liberal Democrats selected Anthony Smith, a local businessman. The

announced on 11 September that their candidate would be John Bickley, a software businessman who had stood in the Wythenshawe and Sale East by-election in February, in which he had come second. The

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

announced their candidate on 14 September as Middleton resident Abi Jackson, a recent graduate of the

University of Huddersfield , mottoeng = Thus not for you alone , established = 1825 – Huddersfield Science and Mechanics' Institute1992 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £2.47 million (2015) , chancellor = George W. Buckley , vice_chancell ...

with a master's degree in psychology.

Polling

Results

Labour retained the seat with a small increase in vote share but a reduced majority. The 36-point increase in UKIP support is one of the largest increases in vote share ever recorded in a by-election. Only in six previous contests in Great Britain has a party enjoyed a larger increase. It is also the highest increase ever recorded for a party that did not win the by-election. Conversely, the fall in the Liberal Democrat vote was the largest recorded for that party in any of the by-elections they have contested since their formation.

Previous result

Notes

{{By-elections to the 55th UK Parliament Heywood and Middleton by-election Heywood and Middleton by-election By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Greater Manchester constituencies Heywood and Middleton by-election Elections in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale 2010s in Manchester