New Oldham council leader elected - the fourth in three years

Former ousted leader Arooj Shah has staged a political comeback to return to head up Oldham council after winning an internal Labour contest.

Ms Shah had previously served as leader after the defeat of Sean Fielding in May 2021, but was herself beaten in the election the following year in Chadderton South ward. In the all-out election this year in which all 60 seats went to the polls she stood in St Mary’s ward and won first place, guaranteeing her four years in office, with 2,743 votes.

She will take over the leadership from Amanda Chadderton, who was struck with the same curse of losing her seat following a year heading up the authority. However Labour narrowly retained a majority on Oldham council, with 32 seats.

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At the Labour party annual general meeting on Tuesday night (May 9) Ms Shah faced off with fellow returning councillor Peter Davis, who had also won back a seat in the town hall in Failsworth West after previously losing to new hyperlocal party, the Failsworth Independents.

A majority of members backed Ms Shah to once again become leader of the group, and consequently the council. During the election count on Friday (May 5) several key people within Labour told the Local Democracy Reporting Service they felt she deserved a second chance at delivering on the priorities established during 2021.

In her pitch to colleagues, she pledged to find a way to save a producing theatre in Oldham following the closure of the iconic Coliseum Theatre earlier this year. She also prioritised cleaning up the streets, saying the Don’t Trash Oldham campaign would now expand to include ‘greening’ the borough