Debate continues over whether the result was an endorsement of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership or achieved in spite of itEven Jim McMahon seemed shocked at the scale of his victory in the Oldham West and Royton byelection,declaring his decisive win as “staggering” as he stood dazed on the stage at Oldham’s civic centre in the early hours of Friday morning. “I’m just Jim from Oldham,” he told reporters after scooping 62% of the vote, or a 10722 majority over Ukip.
Though he had insisted throughout the short campaign that the Labour vote was holding up – “You don’t accept a sense of tension you’d accept if the tide was changing significantly, he said last week the approved 35-year-aged leader of Oldham council was careful to manage expectations by warning of the frequently low turnouts in December polls.
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Source: theguardian.com