By Charlotte Hall – Local Democracy Reporter
THE leader of Oldham Council, Cllr Arooj Shah, has confirmed she will be stepping down from her post before the end of the month.
Her departure could mark the end of 15 years of Labour control at the local authority, following a disastrous election night for the group last week.
Labour lost nine of the 12 seats it was defending for the May 7 vote, leaving the group with just 18 members. Reform gained 13 councillors, propelling it from one of the smallest to the second-largest group in the council. The Oldham Group, an association of independents representing some of Oldham’s majority-Asian central wards, now has 10 members.
The results mean the council’s political makeup has effectively been fractured in three directions. Any group hoping to gain control of the council by the local authority’s first full meeting on May 20 will therefore have to negotiate the support of other groups.
But in a statement published on Sunday, May 10, council leader Shah ruled out “any working agreement” with groups that “have run divisive and toxic campaigns”.
Cllr Shah added: “As a consequence, I will cease being the Leader of the Council on the morning of the annual council meeting.”
This means the Lib Dems, Conservatives, and remaining six independents will have to choose whether to throw their group behind The Oldham Group, Reform UK, or a Labour group under new leadership to form a working cabinet. Because of the political and personal divisions within the council, it could prove difficult to form a stable long-term majority.
Cllr Shah’s full statement reads as follows:
“The result of the local elections in Oldham mirrors Labour’s losses nationally and leaves a council where no party is able to command a viable majority administration.
“We want to thank everyone who voted Labour across the borough, and returned three Labour councillors in Chadderton Central, Medlock Vale, and Werneth.
“While Labour remains marginally the largest single party, we have to take note that the results across the borough clearly showed support for the other parties. Both Reform, led by former Conservative Lewis Quidd, and The Oldham Group, led by former Conservative Kamran Ghafoor, gained seats and are now the second and third largest parties respectively.
“The Labour Group has met to discuss its position following the election, and I can confirm that we will not seek any working arrangement, either through a coalition or supply agreement, with parties that have run divisive and toxic campaigns, effectively carving up the borough through identity and grievance politics that go against our values.
“It is now for those parties to put forward proposals for how they intend to run Oldham Council, reflecting the mandate they have received from voters.
“The Liberal Democrats and independent councillors will now need to decide which, if any, of those arrangements they are prepared to support in order to secure a working majority.
“As a consequence, I will cease being the Leader of the Council on the morning of the annual council meeting.
“The council matters. It spends hundreds of millions of pounds of public money every year, employs thousands of decent, hardworking people, and delivers critical services, including social care and children’s safeguarding, supporting some of the most vulnerable people in the borough.
“We will do as we always have done and treat all members with respect as the democratically elected representatives of the wards they represent, and we ask that the same is shown by all parties. I also urge all parties to use the positions they have secured to draw a line under their infighting, work to raise the bar, and lower the temperature of political conduct in the borough.”
MP Jim McMahon also confirmed Cllr Shah’s imminent departure, praising the “local Labour leadership for attracting investment, regenerating our borough, and rebuilding local services.” He added that “politics can be unforgiving” and that he “plans to work constructively with whoever forms an administration.”
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