Oldham is still 'effectively rudderless' after a Reform bid to take over the council failed to gain support, continuing a month-long deadlock. The council has been in a stalemate after the local elections in May, at which Labour lost eight seats. Reform UK is now the second largest group behind Labour by two councillors, with 16 seats.
After the elections, Labour made the decision to step aside but Reform ruled out any backroom deals. No group has the numbers to take control and form a majority cabinet by themselves. Hours of talks on May 20 failed to find any way through, and officers have had to step up in the meantime. If no leader is elected, it could result in independent officials called commissioners being appointed to run things, but they can cost a lot of money.
Progress was made at a second meeting of all councillors on Monday (June 15) with Conservative councillor Pam Byrne putting herself forward to be Mayor, supported by Reform. Due to an abstention from Labour, the nomination got through, meaning Coun Byrne will represent the borough in the apolitical role for the next year.
Still No Council Leader
When it came to deciding who will run the council, however, no progress was made. Reform group leader Coun Lewis Quigg had put himself forward to lead a minority administration. He said his party was given the authority to lead the whole borough following the elections, telling councillors: 'The mandate for change is quite clear. Things at this council aren’t working so they need to be reformed.'
He said the members of his party were 'second to none' and had experience even if they had faults or 'may say things that are stupid'. He said his administration would look at past mistakes and 'aim to get things right going forward'. Coun Quigg said: 'This isn’t just some paper tiger. This is the real deal. This is the change people wanted. This is the change people voted for.'
He added: 'The basics of this council are not being delivered. Services are failing and things need to be fixed. That is our simple proposal. Nothing fancy. Straight forward. Common sense. Getting on with the job and doing things the residents put us here to do.'
However, the bid failed to get the backing of key parties in the council chamber. Liberal Democrat group leader Coun Sam Al-Hamdani said: 'I haven’t heard anything from you other than to say we won the most seats at that election. That doesn’t give you a majority in this chamber and it didn’t give you a majority of the vote. It would be appreciated if you actually came forward with something constructive about why we should appreciate, why we should think that would be a good thing.'
In response, Coun Quigg claimed they had been clear about 'fixing the basics' which he argued the Liberal Democrats supported, adding: 'Our proposal is to work with people cross-party lines to get it across. We are a minority administration if we are lucky enough to be elected but the point being is we have to make change happen. As a group, we want that change to happen quickly and as fast as possible.'
He said: 'This council has effectively been rudderless since May whether we like it or not. Right or wrong, we have got an opportunity now to change things and put an administration in place.'
Without the numbers, Reform lost the vote. The council remains in a similar position as before, although positions to some key committees were made. Following the meeting, Coun Quigg said other parties had 'created a roadblock to moving the borough forward', adding: 'Residents deserve a council that is effective, accountable and capable of making decisions. Reform UK stands ready to provide that leadership and urges others to do the same.'
'I Am Not Doing This Again', Ex-Leader Says
Labour group leader Arooj Shah said her group were going to rethink their plans and 'would support any viable legitimate form of administration' as long as it was not rooted in 'divisive politics'. She told the LDRS: 'We will have to consider what we do going forward because this situation cannot continue the way it is', adding: 'I am not doing this again. We can’t continue being in this situation of impasse. It’s just not the right thing. People rely on us. I am feeling comforted that we have really competent officers keeping the ship going but all said and done we have residents to serve.'
The next full council meeting will be scheduled to take place in the next few weeks.
