Voters head to the polls in Rochdale by-election
Polls opened in the Rochdale by-election this morning at 7am
PA
Polls opened in the Rochdale by-election this morning at 7am.
The by-election was called after the death of Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd, who died in January after a battle with leukaemia.
There are 11 candidates seeking to replace Llloyd and represent Rochdale in the House of Commons.
The seat, which has historically been a Labour/Liberal Democrat marginal seat, was held by Labour at the 2019 general election.
The by-election was called after the death of Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd
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Lloyd won a majority of 9,668 at a turnout of 60.1 per cent.
In 2019 he held it with 24,475 votes - a vote share of just over 51 per cent.
Conservative candidate Atifa Shah came in second place with 14,807 votes, a vote share of 31 per cent.
Lloyd first won the seat in 2017.
Polling stations opened at 7am and will close at 10pm.
Results are expected in the early hours of Friday morning.