The 1968 by-election for the British House of Commons seat of Oldham West took place on 13 June 1968, at a time when the Labour government of Harold Wilson was deeply unpopular.
The election was caused by the resignation of Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Charles Leslie Hale for reasons of ill health.
[1] Oldham West was convincingly gained for the Conservatives with a 17.7% swing by Bruce Campbell with a majority of 3,311 over the Labour candidate Michael Meacher.
Meacher, a future minister both under Wilson and in the Blair government, would go on to recover the seat from Campbell in the 1970 general election: 1968-1970 was the only time in the post-World War II era that this division of Oldham was not represented by Labour.
The Liberal Party, contesting the seat for the first time since 1951, finished in fourth place, while a creditable third place was gained by the former Liberal and celebrated novelist John Creasey.