SADDLEWORTH councillors have failed in their backing of a bid to declare no confidence in the leader of the Oldham borough authority.
Cllr Kamran Ghafoor, of the Oldham Group, attempted to vote out Labour Cllr Arooj Shah.
The Hollinwood representative attempted to unite opposition groups to kick out the current cabinet, which is led by a minority Labour administration.
And his proposal was backed by Saddleworth West and Lees’ Liberal Democrat Sam Al-Hamdani.
He told a meeting on Wednesday, May 21: “I’m a football fan and one of the things you often hear about owners, you get some good, you get some not so good.
“As a Manchester City fan, we’ve had our fair share of not so good ones in the past but one thing that gets said about owners is they’re a custodian of the club and the club belongs to the fans.
“It’s their job to make sure that institution goes on for the people – the same comparison can be made of the leadership of the council.
“If you’re the leader, you’re here for the people of the town and it’s your job to make sure things are being done for them. The people of Oldham are the most important thing.
“The Labour Party is not Oldham Council. The Labour Party is not the borough of Oldham. You should know the difference. You should respect democracy.”
All eight Saddleworth councillors, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and The Oldham Group’s Cllr Graham Sheldon, present voted in favour of no confidence in Cllr Shah. However, it was lost 28-31.
Making his bid, Cllr Ghafoor said: “This Labour administration has failed Oldham. It has taken the people of this town for granted for far too long.
“It doesn’t listen. Not to this chamber. Not to the residents. Not to the people they claim to serve.
“We are better suited to deal with the real issues facing Oldham than this tired, out-of-touch Labour administration.
“This isn’t about me. It’s about every person in this borough who’s been ignored, overlooked and let down.
“The opposition councillors come from every part of Oldham. We come from different communities, different walks of life and different political traditions. But we’re united by one thing, our commitment to the people of this borough.
“This Labour council isn’t even run from Oldham, it’s Westminster that calls the shots. “That’s the greatest insult of all. Oldham belongs to Oldhamers. It’s time we gave this town back to every corner of Oldham.”
In return, Labour councillors called the challenge ‘a political stunt’ and accused Cllr Ghafoor of ‘unsavoury tactics’ to convince the independents supporting the administration to jump ship, which he denies.
Deputy leader, Cllr Elaine Taylor, said: “In reality, you have no pathway to govern and no plan to lead. This is just a political stunt.
“We’ve already heard about some of the unsavoury tactics. You have no policy suggestions, other than anti-Arooj. We have no idea what you stand for.”
The challenge failed when the Shaw and Crompton and Failsworth Independents voted with the 27-strong administration.
Following the outcome, Cllr Ghafoor hurled accusations of ‘betrayal’ at Brian Hobin and the whole chamber descended into shouting, allegations of dishonesty and insults.
The entire Oldham Group and some members of the Conservative party then stormed out of the chamber in protest.
Councillor Shah has been reinstated as council leader for 2025/26.
The leadership challenge echoed a similar bid made by a ‘rainbow alliance’ of independents, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats a year ago.
At the time, Cllr Howard Sykes was proposed as leader, as he is the leader of Oldham’s Liberal Democrats who were the biggest opposition group. Yet the bid failed in a very similar vote.
You must be logged in to post a comment.