Council tax rise approved at rowdy town hall meeting where councillors shouted and traded nicknames

A council tax rise of 3.99pc was approved at a rowdy town hall meeting where Oldham councillors shouted and traded nicknames.

The tax hike, which is made up of a 1.99pc general rise and two per cent for adult social care, was voted through as part of the Labour administration's budget on Wednesday night. It means that the average household would pay around £45 more a year to the authority.

The budget plans include the provision to pay all carers in Oldham the foundation living wage, which would see wages rise from £9.50 an hour to £9.90, working out at an extra £768 a year.

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During the meeting a minute's silence was observed to mark those who have been killed since the start of the invasion of Ukraine at the end of February.

Several opposition parties put forward alternative budget amendments calling for changes, including the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, and the new Failsworth Independent Party (FIP).

The parties' amendments included various proposals, including the Lib Dems seeking further investment to make the borough more environmentally friendly, upping the budget for street cleaning and tackling fly-tipping, and limiting road speeds to 20mph.

The Tories wanted a freeze on council tax increase this year, limiting it to just the 2pc adult social care precept rise, while the FIP wanted a return to weekly bin collections.

However all three amendments were defeated during a heated three and a half hour meeting of the budget council, with Labour councillors describing several of them as 'electioneering'.

Amid the back-and-forth of debate, council leader Arooj Shah described FIP councillor Brian Hobin as 'Brian No-Bin' in reference to his budget amendment around increasing bin collections.

However