Labour pushing for early by-election in Jim Dobbin’s seat

Update: It has been confirmed the by-election will take place on October 9th – that means a quickfire selection, presumably before the Scottish Referendum and conference.

It’s reported that senior Labour party officials are hoping to usher through an early by-election in Heywood and Middleton, following the sudden death of the constituency’s MP Jim Dobbin.

At the last election, Dobbin had a majority of 6,000 but rumours are floating that UKIP could make gains in the area. The constituency makes it onto a list of the 100 Labour seats that are the most receptive to UKIP – compiled by Matthew Goodwin and Rob Ford.  In Goodwin and Ford’s list of all the constituencies in the UK, ranked according to their susceptibility to UKIP, it comes in at 148 – suggesting that while UKIP’s potential appeal in the area is not overwhelming, it is significant and should not be dismissed.

In light of this, the Guardian have said Labour are pushing for the by-election to take place on the 9th October, the same day as the Clacton by-election. Usually in these events, the consequent by-election isn’t held so soon after the MP’s death; but it’s said Labour will speak to Mr Dobbin’s family – with the hope of getting their approval – before they make any further moves on the matter.

If Labour are vying for a 9th October by-election, the date would, most likely, have to be confirmed in Parliament on Thursday, otherwise Labour could be forced to wait to finalise the date until the conference season in late October, when Parliament is back in session.

We’ll keep you updated on any further developments.