History
The present constituency was formed in 1997, from parts of the former Oldham Central and Royton and Oldham West constituencies. It is a safe seat for the Labour Party, having been held by Michael Meacher since the 1997 general election. Meacher had previously been the MP for Oldham West since 1970.
The constituency gained a level of notoriety at the 2001 general election when the leader of the far-right British National Party (BNP), Nick Griffin, stood as a candidate. Griffin received 6,552 votes (a 16.4% share), beating the Liberal Democrats to third place, and finishing narrowly behind the Conservatives in second. This was widely interpreted to be a reaction to the serious race riots that had occurred in Oldham (and other northern towns) a few months earlier. Because of the heightened tension, the Returning Officer took the decision not to allow any candidates to make speeches after the declaration of the results. This led to Griffin and fellow BNP candidate Michael Treacy, who ran in the neighbouring constituency of Oldham East and Saddleworth, symbolically gagging themselves on the platform wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan "Gagged for Telling the Truth".
In the immediate aftermath of the riots, the BNP have received considerable support in the two wards of Royton North and Royton South. However, the BNP share of the vote has sharply declined since then, with BNP and former BNP candidates coming in third or fourth in Royton North and other Oldham West and Royton Wards.
At the 2005 election, the BNP's share of the vote declined (although they still retained their deposit), and Labour's Michael Meacher still won comfortably.
There has never been a BNP councillor in the constituency, nor on Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council as a whole.
Read more about this topic: Oldham West And Royton (UK Parliament Constituency)
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