Neil Wilby Media

Another week and another two blunders add to the clearest of evidence that the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, boobed spectacularly when appointing his equality champion last year.

Picking a friend, based, presumably, on the colour of her skin rather than track record or ability was never likely to end well. So it has proved with Cllr Arooj Shah, whose official title within the Greater Manchester Combined Authority is Portfolio Lead for Equalities and Communities

Following her cancel Christmas gaffe (read more here), allowing a Palestinian flag to be flown, in concerning circumstances, in the public gallery at an Oldham Council meeting (read more here) and her close alliance and subsequent promotion of an anti-LGBQT campaigner, Cllr Aftab Hussain (read more here), two more incidents go to proving that she is not only entirely unsuited to any role connected to diversity, her repeatedly poor judgement calls into question any significant role in public life.

The picture beneath the headline is one taken recently of a group of Labour activists out canvassing in the Borough. There is not a white face to be seen and the only female present is Cllr Shah’s close friend, Ghazala Rana, who is standing as a candidate in the forthcoming local elections.

Worse still, Arooj Shah’s gushing endorsement of the disgraced Azhar Ali, who is standing as a Labour candidate in the forthcoming by-election in neighbouring Rochdale, despite being suspended by his Party as a known anti-semite and Gaza conspiracy theorist. 

On the clearest of evidence, it is time for the Greater Manchester Mayor to act swiftly and decisively and replace his equalities champion with a politician who can exercise good judgement and is not constrained by other external forces or tendencies.

As for Cllr Shah’s Labour Party colleagues in Oldham, they should also be closely examining their consciences and asking themselves this question: Is the self-absorbed, gaffe-prone Arooj really the Leader we want to stand behind?

Page last updated: Monday 12th February 2024 at 0925 hours

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