Oldham Council remains without political leadership after nearly two months of stalemate, with Labour, Reform UK, and an alliance of smaller parties unable to agree on who should run the borough. Councillors are set to meet for the third time on July 1, but talks have descended into 'bickering' and tensions are high.
Three competing bids for leadership
Labour, which initially said it would step aside after losing eight seats in the 2026 local elections, has now put itself forward, arguing 'the borough needs stability and leadership, and it needs it now'. Reform UK, the second-largest party in the chamber, wants to run the council itself. An alliance led by the Oldham Group and the Liberal Democrats is also in the running. None of the options has majority support from all 60 councillors.
Councillor Lewis Quigg, leader of the Reform group, said his party is best placed to lead. 'We were told we were running away, we weren't stepping up but we did step up. Reform broke the block and then they voted us down. They can't have their cake and eat it too,' he told the Manchester Evening News. 'We want to run a minority administration. If people want to support that, they can support that.'
Labour's change of heart
Labour group leader Arooj Shah argued that her party's experience and track record make it the best choice. 'Finally we will need to give consideration to how we better engage and include group leaders and members with particular interests on matters and decisions that affect the borough as a whole. We have to move past the personalisation and tribalism that we have seen over recent years to a politics of greater collaboration for the good of the people we serve,' she said. However, the Conservatives have already rejected Labour's offer, calling it 'now too little too late'.
Alliance accuses Labour of hypocrisy
Kamran Ghafoor, leader of the Oldham Group, said their alliance has support from a wide selection of councillors, while Labour 'can't admit defeat and can't admit that the people of Oldham have voted them out'. He added, 'They clearly can't get over the fact there is something possibly more capable than them to run the council. We have offered to Reform and the Labour Party that I will step aside and they can choose another leader from the alliance and they have refused that as well.'
Liberal Democrat councillor Sam Al-Hamdani expressed distrust in Labour's promise to work cross-party. 'Labour have been singularly aggressive in stopping people from being able to work constructively and actively worked against any form of collegiality for several years,' he said. 'For them to ask everybody to forget about that because they are promising to play nice now, they have made that promise before and not kept it. I want to know why this time I should believe them.'
Reform accused of refusing to negotiate
Al-Hamdani also criticised Reform for refusing to discuss their plans. 'That isn't being cooperative. The most cooperative group is not the one that says we are not prepared to talk to anybody, not prepared to negotiate, not prepared to discuss your opinion.' He called for 'a lot more grown up conversations because frankly every time we are all in the room, it's just been bickering and that isn't good enough from anyone.'
In response, Reform's Coun Quigg said people did not vote for the alliance and that the Oldham Group and Liberal Democrats 'refused to listen and made clear we must accept everything they say'. He said his party 'have had meetings with senior officers to go through our proposals and are working diligently to prepare for any outcome'.
Risk of commissioners being appointed
Some councillors warn the local authority is 'perilously close' to having expensive commissioners brought in to run things. The Local Government Association is supporting all parties to find a way forward, while the government is watching. If the deadlock continues, the UK Government may lose patience and appoint commissioners to take over council functions – a first for Oldham if it happens. Key decisions that may be controversial cannot be made, but the public have been reassured that officers are still ensuring key services are delivered.
Coun Shah said, 'The sixty councillors in the chamber have a simple choice – either support the continuation of Oldham's improvement journey under Labour or give Reform an opportunity to lead. My only ask if that in doing so they put politics aside and vote for what is best for Oldham and for its people.'
