What is Rochdale (UK Parliament constituency)?
'''[[Rochdale]]''' is a seat represented in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] of the UK Parliament. It has elected one [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom and Canada)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) since it was created in [[1832]]. The Rochdale [[constituency]] has above average [[unemployment]] and many people living in [[poverty]]. There is a significant [[British Asians|British Asian]] community in the constituency. Since 1997, the constituency has also included the semi-rural suburb of [[Littleborough]] where there are fewer poor people. It was represented by [[Tony Lloyd]] of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] until his death on 17 January 2024 and a [[by-election]] is to take place on 29 February 2024. He was first elected MP for this seat in 2017; previously, he had been the MP for [[Stretford]] and then [[Manchester Central (UK Parliament constituency)|Manchester Central]] from 1983 until his resignation from Parliament in 2012.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sir Tony Lloyd: Veteran Labour MP for Rochdale dies aged 73|url=https://news.sky.com/story/sir-tony-lloyd-labour-mp-for-rochdale-dies-aged-73-13046240|access-date=2024-02-13|website=Sky News|language=en}}</ref> == Candidates == Azhar Ali was selected as the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] candidate on 27 January 2024. He is the leader of the Labour group on [[Lancashire County Council|Lancashire county council]]. He was a candidate for the Westminster seat of [[Pendle (UK Parliament constituency)|Pendle]] in 2015 and 2019.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Khan|first=Shuiab|date=27 January 2024|title=Brierfield's Azhar Ali announced as Labour candidate for Rochdale|work=[[Lancashire Telegraph]]|url=https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/24079049.brierfields-azhar-ali-announced-labour-candidate-rochdale/|url-status=live|access-date=28 January 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/2024.01.28-101336/https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/24079049.brierfields-azhar-ali-announced-labour-candidate-rochdale/|archive-date=28 January