Oldham Politics: To Ally Or Not To Ally

Following the local elections where Reform UK won 13 seats on the Council, the Labour Group issued a statement in which they made clear they accepted the verdict of the electorate and said they would not seek any working relationship with other parties making up the Council.

Reform UK won 16 seats with substantial majorities making them the second largest party in Oldham.

Without Labour joining a coalition, it would mean more than two parties would have to combine to make a majority of at least 31 councillors to form a working administration.

Such a combination, if led by Reform UK would necessarily include at least four other parties should the Oldham Group not engage in an alliance with them.

The Oldham Group, as the third largest party in the chamber, could only participate in a coalition if Reform UK were to join.

This morning (May 12), Reform UK issued a statement via their Facebook page which made clear that they would not be working with any other party saying, “If you vote for Reform UK, you get Reform UK.”

Reform UK’s leader in Oldham said they would not engage in “horse-trading” or doing “secret” deals.

The Labour Party also issued a press release in which they criticised Reform UK for refusing to attempt to form an administration despite campaigning on promises to fix Oldham council.

Cllr Arooj Shah said, “Reform aren’t brave enough to fix what they claim is broken. They stood for election telling residents they were ready to ‘take control’ of the council. Now, when given the opportunity to step up, they’re trying to step back and haven’t even attempted to form an administration. That is not leadership, it is a complete abdication of responsibility."

Oldham is now in a position where the two largest parties have decided against any involvement in a coalition to run Oldham leaving it impossible for the other parties to form a majority administration with only 27 council seats remaining.

At next week’s Annual Meeting (May 20) of the Council where all leadership roles are usually agreed, it remains to be seen if deals have, in fact, been reached, but at the moment, it’s unclear if enough peace will break out for such political manoeuvering.