John
01-05-2011, 07:48 AM
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg is set to insist that the crunch by-election in Oldham East and Saddleworth is a two-horse race between his party and Labour.
The Deputy Prime Minister is paying his second visit to the constituency during a campaign seen as the first chance for voters to pass judgment on the Lib Dems' decision to go into coalition with Conservatives.
Lib Dem candidate Elwyn Watkins was just 103 votes short of unseating Labour's Phil Woolas at the General Election last May, making the constituency one of Mr Clegg's top targets.
But Lib Dem support nationally has slumped from 23% in the General Election to as little as 8% in some polls, reflecting supporters' unease over the coalition deal and U-turns on university tuition fees and VAT.
If the national polls are repeated in Oldham on January 13, Mr Watkins could drop to third place behind Conservative candidate Kashif Ali, who was fewer than 2,500 votes behind in the three-way marginal last year.
But Lib Dems believe they will benefit from voter distaste for Labour due to Mr Woolas's removal as MP by the courts because of misleading leaflets he put out during the General Election campaign.
There are suspicions that David Cameron is secretly hoping for Lib Dem victory in Oldham to give his under-fire coalition partner a boost. Before Christmas, the Tory leader took the highly unusual step of wishing the Lib Dem candidate well in the by-election battle. The Prime Minister has yet to visit the constituency to campaign, though he is expected to make an appearance in the next few days.
Mr Clegg will face voters in Saddleworth at the first "town hall meeting" he has attended since voting in favour of a rise in annual tuition fees to a maximum £9,000 - something he pledged to oppose before last year's election. He will also speak to shoppers at a local supermarket and hit the streets to knock on doors with Lib Dem activists.
Aides said he will tell voters that the Government is providing a better answer to the constituency's problems than Labour, whose leader Ed Miliband visited Oldham on Monday to support candidate Debbie Abrahams and denounce yesterday's VAT hike.
The full list of candidates in alphabetical order are: Debbie Abrahams (Labour); Derek Adams (British National Party); Kashif Ali (Conservative); Peter Allen (Green Party); David Bishop (Bus-Pass Elvis Party); The Flying Brick (Monster Raving Loony Party); Loz Kaye (Pirate Party of the United Kingdom); Stephen Morris (English Democrats); Paul Nuttall (UK Independence Party); Elwyn Watkins (Liberal Democrats).
Source - Yahoo.
The Deputy Prime Minister is paying his second visit to the constituency during a campaign seen as the first chance for voters to pass judgment on the Lib Dems' decision to go into coalition with Conservatives.
Lib Dem candidate Elwyn Watkins was just 103 votes short of unseating Labour's Phil Woolas at the General Election last May, making the constituency one of Mr Clegg's top targets.
But Lib Dem support nationally has slumped from 23% in the General Election to as little as 8% in some polls, reflecting supporters' unease over the coalition deal and U-turns on university tuition fees and VAT.
If the national polls are repeated in Oldham on January 13, Mr Watkins could drop to third place behind Conservative candidate Kashif Ali, who was fewer than 2,500 votes behind in the three-way marginal last year.
But Lib Dems believe they will benefit from voter distaste for Labour due to Mr Woolas's removal as MP by the courts because of misleading leaflets he put out during the General Election campaign.
There are suspicions that David Cameron is secretly hoping for Lib Dem victory in Oldham to give his under-fire coalition partner a boost. Before Christmas, the Tory leader took the highly unusual step of wishing the Lib Dem candidate well in the by-election battle. The Prime Minister has yet to visit the constituency to campaign, though he is expected to make an appearance in the next few days.
Mr Clegg will face voters in Saddleworth at the first "town hall meeting" he has attended since voting in favour of a rise in annual tuition fees to a maximum £9,000 - something he pledged to oppose before last year's election. He will also speak to shoppers at a local supermarket and hit the streets to knock on doors with Lib Dem activists.
Aides said he will tell voters that the Government is providing a better answer to the constituency's problems than Labour, whose leader Ed Miliband visited Oldham on Monday to support candidate Debbie Abrahams and denounce yesterday's VAT hike.
The full list of candidates in alphabetical order are: Debbie Abrahams (Labour); Derek Adams (British National Party); Kashif Ali (Conservative); Peter Allen (Green Party); David Bishop (Bus-Pass Elvis Party); The Flying Brick (Monster Raving Loony Party); Loz Kaye (Pirate Party of the United Kingdom); Stephen Morris (English Democrats); Paul Nuttall (UK Independence Party); Elwyn Watkins (Liberal Democrats).
Source - Yahoo.