On 9 October 2014, a by-election was held for the UK parliamentary constituency of Heywood and Middleton. It was triggered by the death of its MP Jim Dobbin on 6 September 2014. It was held on the same day as the Clacton by-election. The Labour Party narrowly held the seat following a recount. UK Independence Party (UKIP) came second, and increased its vote by 36 percentage points since the previous general election.

James Dobbin was a British Labour Co-operative politician and microbiologist who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Heywood and Middleton from 1997 until his death in 2014.