Reclaiming In The Retelling

Last night, the Labour Party was celebrating holding on to the Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency after a by-election forced by the error of its own side. The Lib Dems, whose candidate precipitated the whole process, came second, and the Tories a distant third.

Then came the morning after, and the spin. In the Maily Telegraph, Nick Clegg is quoted as talking of “retaking” the seat in 2015. In the Express, Clegg has said the Lib Dems “will make a comeback” there.

That would be an interesting achievement: since the Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency was created in 1997, it has always returned a Labour MP.