Oldham East and Saddleworth sees a seven way battle when voters go to the polls on Thursday, December 12.
Debbie Abrahams won the seat by just over 8,000 votes in 2017.
The serving MP will again be standing for Labour but there is a real fight, with an Independent plus the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Brexit Party, the Green Party, and the Proud of Oldham and Saddleworth Party fielding candidates.
Anyone registered to vote will receive a polling card which confirms their constituency and polling station, or postal or proxy voting details. The deadline to register to vote was Tuesday, November 26.
Polling stations will be open on December 12 from 7am until 10pm.
For more information, contact the electoral services team at Oldham Council by calling 0161 770 4718 or write to: Elections Office, Oldham Council, West Street, Oldham
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Oldham East and Saddleworth candidates
Debbie Abrahams, Labour Party
I have been so proud to represent Oldham East and Saddleworth over the last eight years, during which time I have dealt with 33,000 local cases.
Poverty and austerity are political choices, which is why I set up and chaired the Oldham Fairness Commission, building commitment from business, public and voluntary sectors to tackle local inequalities including making Oldham a Living Wage borough.
My award winning Be Fair – Pay on Time campaign started as a local issue but became a national campaign.
Recommendations from my parliamentary inquiry were incorporated into 2014 Small Business Act and late payments to small businesses have fallen from £41.5bn in 2014 to £14bn now.
With more than 2,000 people across the constituency living with dementia, my Dementia Friendly Oldham campaign has created over 8,500 Dementia Friends.
I will continue to fight for the rights of disabled people, including those with dementia, influencing attitudes and changing practices.
Since 2014 my summer school has brought scores of young people from across Oldham borough together, to empower them, and to raise their awareness about what politics is all about: public service.
I will continue to fight for improved access at Greenfield station, reliable and affordable bus services and for funding to fix our brownfield sites, so we can tackle the housing shortage and protect our green spaces.
If re-elected I promise to continue to work as hard as I can for you, providing a strong, experienced voice in Parliament and making a real difference for residents and businesses in Oldham East and Saddleworth.
Sam Al-Hamdani, Liberal Democrats
Sam is a local councillor, born and bred in Saddleworth and living in Lees.
He is a freelance designer and editor working for clients as diverse as the Fair Tax Mark, the World Health Organisation, Chambers of Commerce and the CBI.
He believes we need to look to build more engaged communities and society. Too many people in Oldham feel like they have been left behind by years of national governments who are too focused on London and the South East.
We can deliver a brighter future for Oldham. It requires changing our thinking. We need to ensure that both national government policies and our membership of the European Union deliver for our town.
Oldham should be a place of opportunity and right now it isn’t. We need to bring our communities together – celebrate the hard-working people who live here and who can make this a diverse, thriving town.
Membership of the European Union can be one part of this. The UK must also deliver a green revolution. If we are ahead of the curve – leading the world in environmental technologies – then a greener economy will also be a growing, positive economy.
A coherent approach to local services is crucial. Whether it is planning, social and health care, education – we need not just funding, but effective funding, and insightful planning. Spending money we don’t have will just make things worse.
Government needs to deliver better. The Liberal Democrats, and a Liberal Democrat MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, can deliver a brighter future for Oldham.
Tom Lord, Conservative Party
I was a Leave voter and at present I am just a member of the public frustrated with what I perceive to be the duplicity of some MPs in doing exactly the opposite of what the majority of their constituents asked them to do in 2016.
That is what is happening in Oldham. My vote and your vote to Leave the EU is being ignored.
My submission to you is simple – change the MP and install somebody who reflects the majority vote.
I know some of you are Labour voters who voted to Leave the EU. Perhaps being a Labour voter is in your DNA, inherited from your parents or your grandparents.
Perhaps, as a result, the idea of voting Conservative would be a betrayal of that rich political lineage you have running through your family? Or a contradiction of what you regard as being the correct values to embody?
But consider, for a moment, setting aside the acrimony you have for the Conservative Party and the unswerving loyalty you feel for the Labour Party and consider what your Leave vote means should you be dutiful and faithful to what you have done before by casting your vote for the Labour Party. The answer is a second referendum.
I have been a legal aid barrister for almost 10 years and so I have represented the most marginalised and ignored in society.
I want your Leave vote to be honoured and not marginalised. The Conservatives want Brexit done.
The Conservatives will honour your Leave vote.
Wendy Olsen, Green Party
As your Green MP I promise to protect green space and work toward a more fair and equal society.
I will engage with the planning process to protect green space.
Saddleworth has been put under a threat of new housing which means more traffic and the risk of air pollution.
I favour preserving our Green spaces protecting the healthy opportunities that nature offers us.
Your MP should be helpful. I will respond to your queries. Issues raised in Oldham East so far include heavy traffic, high train prices and the public transport problem.
I support the Better Busses campaign and I want to see integrated day tickets for getting around.
As a Green, I also think this is a climate election so your vote for Green Party does count.
A wave of Green votes shows the political sea change needed. We need wind power and solar and much more home insulation.
Greens favour getting rid of sanctions and ending the Universal Credit.
We offer a basic income which helps carers and people living on a low income. We want to see more regulations to keep rents low.
As your MP, I will fight for more funding for secondary schools in the area.
It is disappointing to see schools in decline while the tax paid by millionaires and big companies is so low.
I have a track record as a peace campaigner. I vote for Remain” but also believe in reforming the European Union.
Paul Errock, Proud of Oldham and Saddleworth Party
Like generations of his family before him, Paul was born and raised in Oldham.
Well respected across all of Oldham’s communities, Paul has lived and worked in Oldham and Saddleworth his entire life.
Easily recognised, always approachable and a champion of the town and its people, Paul is a proud Oldhamer.
He is one of us. Once dubbed ‘the most honest man in the country’, in 1983 he co-founded the company Marshall Errock Construction Ltd.
From humble beginnings, it is now a highly respected multi-million-pound business.
Committed to the town and its people, Paul has ensured that it remains based in Oldham where it employs local people and invests in young apprentices.
Paul is not a career politician nor is he someone that is parachuted in from a faraway place.
A reluctant politician, he understands successive regimes, of all political persuasions, have failed Oldham and Saddleworth.
With our people continuously ignored and our needs sacrificed for loyalties elsewhere, Paul believes Oldham and Saddleworth has been abandoned by faceless bureaucrats and the political classes who consider our town and its people to be fools that are easily manipulated time after time.
Paul’s only motivation is to serve the people of Oldham and Saddleworth and restore pride to this once successful Northern town.
On December 12, you finally have a chance to vote for someone who will put the people of Oldham and Saddleworth first. Vote Proud. Vote Paul Errock.
Paul Brierley, Brexit Party
Bolton-born, company director Paul Brierley is a widower, with a son and three grandchildren.
He is a qualified quantity surveyor, working in both the public and private sectors.
Paul’s political career started in 1999 as a European parliamentary candidate for the North West. He also stood as a candidate for Westminster in 2001 and 2006.
“I firmly believe politicians are not listening or understanding the voice of the people and are perverting the democratic trust which has been bestowed upon them.
“The incumbent Labour MP has on numerous occasions voted against the wishes of her constituents including an overwhelming majority of 59.92 per cent who voted to leave the EU.
“She has neither listened or appreciated the views of residents taking for granted their support.
“Many MPs believe they can do or say whatever they want without consequences, they are supposed to be the people’s representative.”
“For decades, Labour locally and nationally have decimated the town. They blame everyone except themselves.
“They have become complacent and lost touch with the voters. Oldham’s decline it is there for all to see.
Its beautiful areas of green belt are constantly under attack from developers determined to destroy its preservation and erode its landscape.
“These developments are fully supported by Labour councillors and Members of Parliament.
“The Brexit Party is neither of the left or the right. Its candidates come from all walks of life.
“Its members and supporters have a range of political views and alliances. But are joined together with the sole purpose of changing politics for the better, restoring trust in a political system dominated by the two-party system governed by self-interest, delivering Brexit and defending democracy.”
Amoy Lindo, Independent
One of the benefits of an Independent MP is I have no party whips to tell me how to vote.
I can listen to you. I am free to speak and free to act and free to fight for the issues you care about the most.
I will work independently to help get Brexit delivered by doing what we voted for as a country.
Oldham Council has been represented by one political party for over 20 years.
This political party has a lack of accountability and a lack of good council.
We have seen in many of those years that they are not working for you, the constituent and often you are being ignored.
A vote for an Independent is a vote for your voice. Elect an MP who truly cares about a town where she was born and raised in and is prepared to put you first.
I am a wife, a mother of four and have three grandchildren.
I gained two degrees specialising in business management.
I chaired the board of First Choice Homes Oldham until the local board closed.
I run a healthy eating food business in the centre of Oldham and I am the person for the people.
I care about how people think. My aim is to help voice, share all I have to give.
“I cannot do this without my team and that team is you. I need you all to stand with me so I can be your voice because… I care!”