The 2011 by-election in Oldham East and Saddleworth was a by-election for the Parliament of the United Kingdom's House of Commons constituency of Oldham East and Saddleworth held on 13 January 2011. Labour Party candidate Debbie Abrahams held the seat for her party with an increased majority over the Liberal Democrats, succeeding Phil Woolas, whose victory in the 2010 general election had been declared void because he had knowingly made false statements attacking his Liberal Democrat opponent's personal character. Background The election was triggered on 5 November 2010 after sitting MP Phil Woolas was reported personally guilty of "knowingly making false statements" about the personal character of his Liberal Democrat opponent, Elwyn Watkins, during the 2010 general election campaign by an election court consisting of two High Court judges. In consequence, Woolas ceased to be an MP on 5 November and was banned from holding public office for three years. Woolas applied for a judicial review of the decision: his initial application was rejected, but he entered a second request for a review. Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow stated that a date for the by-election would not be set until all legal proceedings were complete. Woolas's second request for review was heard at the High Court on 16 November 2010; the Court of Appeal announced on 3 December 2010 that, although one of the three statements on which the election court had found Woolas guilty was not within the Act, the other two were and so the judgment was upheld, after which Woolas declared "That's it – I'm out", conceding defeat and leaving the way open for the by-election. By parliamentary convention, the party who last held the seat moves the writ for the by-election, and it was rumoured that Labour planned to call the election for 3 February 2011. However, a writ for the election was instead moved for 13 January by the Liberal Democrats. The contest was the first by-election of the 2010 parliament, and the first by-election to be caused by an election court overturning the previous result since the 1997 Winchester by-election. It is also notable for being the earliest by-election in the calendar year for 55 years and the fifth-earliest since the First World War. Candidates The Labour Party had more than eighty members apply to be their candidate in the election. Initial frontrunner Afzal Khan was not shortlisted, and the party