Neil Wilby Media

The failing Leader of Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council has decided to pass the blame onto Opposition councillors for the chaotic shambles that has blighted Full Council meetings over the past several years.

Scenes of public disorder, both from the public galleries and within the civic chamber itself, are now an unedifying but routine feature of such gatherings. Even on the front bench where the chief executive, Harry Catherall, was heard to abuse a Liberal Democrat councillor last week (read full story here). Completely unchallenged by his close friend, the very same Council Leader, Cllr Arooj Shah.

As is now her habit, Cllr Shah, makes the crisis all about herself in the first place and then, as a sub-set and all too predictably, exonerates her own Labour councillors, and senior paid officers, from any blame.

No one can possibly excuse the abuse targeted at her, much too often highly personalised and mocking her appearance, since her close association with a group of convicted criminals in the Borough became widely known four or five years ago.

But Cllr Shah, presently hanging onto to leadership of her own increasingly discontented Oldham Labour Group, and surviving a ‘no-confidence’ vote at the last Full Council meeting (read full story here), does little to help herself when on her feet in the chamber: ‘Smart-arse’ answers, or stonewalling questions, bending the constitution when it suits and sneering at her critics are, very regrettably, her stock in trade and guaranteed to fray tempers in what are now, almost always, tense settings.

Her lengthening list of failures, not in any way insignificant, as the Equality Lead for Greater Manchester Combined Authority (read more here) is also heightening tensions in council meetings, particularly amongst the worst failed groups such as the LGBQT caucus: Cllr Shah recently welcomed back into the Labour fold, Cllr Aftab Hussain, a noted anti-LGBQT campaigner and, believe it or not, a close friend and leading political ally. 

The Oldham Labour contortions over the Gaza conflict has also left many of Cllr Shah’s Muslim contemporaries in the town boiling with rage. 

This is the full text of the Council Leader’s email sent out earlier this afternoon (21st March, 2024) and passed to the author of this article, Neil Wilby, by a number of sources from within her own circle.

“Dear Councillors,

“A week on from Full Council I wanted to write to share with you the very real impact of the sort of politics we saw play out in the council chamber last week.

“During the meeting a number of members played to an aggressive and abusive audience. These are people who regularly share lies and conspiracy theories online which seek to dehumanise me and further a campaign of harassment and abuse I have faced for a number of years.

“During the meeting members of the opposition joined in with booing and heckling led by those in the public gallery. This booing was only aimed at me, despite others making exactly the same points. I was called a liar by opposition councillors and told that true statements I made were untrue – these allegations are now being repeated online and are fuelling threats and abuse. And finally, one opposition councillor, who regularly makes nods to online theories about corruption in relation to me and this council, felt able to boldly repeat the conspiracies they have been spreading within these online groups in the chamber. Again this is fuelling further online abuse and threats.

“These behaviours, those who condone it on the same benches and those who support motions and debate that further this narrative, encourage, enable and embolden online racists and abusers. They legitimise the allegations which are made against me online and drive the racist conspiracy theories that fuel the daily barrage of abuse that I and other elected members face. 

“There was a reason that in 2021 I asked for your support to ensure local politics was focused on policy and not personality and it’s because that level of personalised abuse and targeting has real consequences.

“Attached to this email are just some of the abusive, racist and threatening messages shared online about me over the past week or so. These are not exhaustive.

“I am left feeling afraid, for my safety and the safety of my family. I am once again pleading with you to stop this sort of politics. To speak up against the personalised abuse and attacks that come from within your own groups. Apologies in private for the behaviour of your colleagues is NOT enough when in the public domain you encourage and support it.

“I realise that some of you will, once again, claim I am “playing the victim” in raising this with you. And it’s for that reason I have avoided doing so before. But, the acceptance of racial abuse that we are showing in that chamber and in wider politics also impacts outside of the council. The normalisation of jokes about samosas and mango chutney aimed at asian councillors takes us back to a time thirty of forty years ago when black and minority ethnic people regularly faced these sorts of racist comments. I owe it to my community to stand up for what is right and call racism out, regardless of who the perpetrators of it are.

“Oldham is better than this. Divisive and personalised attacks have become the norm in national politics since Brexit , together we have the power to stop this becoming the norm in Oldham and we owe that to local people. And as elected members we should be the best of Oldham. I hope that, despite our political differences we can come together to make local politics inclusive and welcoming to people from all backgrounds. 

“Arooj

Councillor Arooj Shah

Leader of the Council

Labour Councillor for St. Mary’s”

Attached to the email, as examples of what Cllr Shah considers to be unacceptable, were social media posts from two former close allies and well-known grooming gang conspiracy theorists, neither of whom live in urban Oldham: Unemployed, Tameside-based Raja Miah and Saddleworth-based retired builder, Paul Errock. Both very strongly campaign against the Labour administration in Oldham Borough and have done for a number of years.

Comment has been sought from the Group Leaders of those parties with more than three sitting Members: Cllrs Howard Sykes MBE (LibDem), Cllr Graham Sheldon (Conservatives), Cllr Brian Hobin (Failsworth Independent Party) and Cllr Kamran Ghafoor (The Oldham Group).

UPDATE: Just over half an hour after this article was published one Oldham councillor was very quick out of the blocks. S/he did not wish to be named for ‘fear of reprisals’: 

Page last updated: Friday 22nd March, 2024 at 08h35

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