Labour chooses by-election candidate for Oldham West and Royton

Jim McMahon defeated three other candidates to win the Labour nomination

Labour has chosen Jim McMahon, the leader of Oldham Council, to be its candidate in the Oldham West and Royton by-election next month.

Mr McMahon beat Mohammad Azam, who had been backed by the Unite union, by 232 votes to 141 in a primary contest.

The 3 December by-election, triggered by the death of Michael Meacher last month, will be the first electoral test of new leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Mr Meacher won the seat at May's election with a 14,738 majority.

Mr McMahon, Labour's most senior representative in the Local Government Association, is regarded as being a centrist.

He won a ballot of local party members, seeing off the challenge of three candidates from the left of the party, including Mr Azam, a bus driver, and Chris Williamson, the former Labour MP for Derby North.

The UK Independence Party, which came second in the general election, has chosen local businessman John Bickley to contest the seat, the first by-election of the new Parliament.

The Conservative candidate will be James Daly, a criminal defence solicitor and councillor for Bury North. The Lib Dems, meanwhile, have chosen Manchester councillor Jane Brophy and the Green Party has chosen Simeon Hart.

Full list of declared candidates:

Labour: Jim McMahon

Conservatives: James Daly

UK Independence Party: John Bickley

The Liberal Democrats: Jane Brophy

The Green Party: Simeon Hart