Neil Wilby Media

There can be little doubt that local businessman, Shah Bahram, has emerged as one of the most influential political figures in Oldham over the course of the past year. Particularly amongst the Asian communities in the Borough.

His masterminding of the The Oldham Group‘s campaign, along with Omar Sharif, in the 2024 local elections saw the Labour Party’s thirteen year control of Oldham Council wrested from them almost single-handedly.

It was also done the hard way with spectacular wins for TOG in the Labour heartlands where defeat was almost unthinkable in wards such as Alexandra, Coldhurst, St Mary’s, Waterhead and Werneth even up to a few months ago.

Gaza was, of course, a central issue but not the only one: Disenchantment with how the local Labour Party is run and particularly with its ‘toxic’ Leader, Cllr Arooj Shah, was also a dominant doorstep and community meeting topic.

In her own St Mary’s ward, for example, sitting councillor Ali Aqeel Salamat, took a very heavy beating at the polls. A ‘punishment’ by the Glodwick electorate for sticking with his Leader, rather than the principles and beliefs of his chosen faith.

In a post on social media yesterday evening (3rd May) Shah Bahram offers some harsh words of criticism, and some sage advice, to Cllr Shah and the rest of the Oldham Labour Group. A number of whom, to the certain knowledge of Neil Wilby, the author of this article, had expressed disquiet at the leadership, and the Party’s direction of travel during the past municipal year, but decided to jog along, keep their head down and hope for the best. 

“The Oldham Labour Party have a lot of soul searching to do.

“They are at a crossroads where the sane-minded members need to wrestle back control from the incompetent elements within their ranks.

“The last few years have shown that when the elected representatives are forced to accept leaders that are pushed upon them, that these planted leaders have ultimately failed miserably.

“What the 2024 local council elections have also exposed is the rot that has taken hold from within.

“From the selection of candidates based on power politics where candidates are selected that add simple “yes man/women” for factions within the Party to accepting Independent councillors who have previously gone against the core ethos of the Labour Party (read more here).

“These decisions based on self preservation in the here and now and are as stepping stones for political aims and aspirations in the future at a Parliamentary level.

“Ultimately, these decisions taken by a select few are detrimental to the Oldham Labour Party as a whole. I spoke to many Labour councillors yesterday and they agreed with what is said.

“When it comes to Palestine, the Oldham Leadership failed, and failed miserably. The decisions made to gag councillors, stop them from attending public meetings, using social media and attending peace rallies was nothing but another nail in the Labour coffin within the Muslim majority wards.

“Those Labour councillors who lost their seats to Independents lost them to their loyalty to a Party Leadership that made the wrong decisions purely to benefit their own personal political development.

“Those who lost gave the ultimate sacrifice for the Party and their Leadership who could have given them breathing space, but didn’t purely to project an image of “ruling with and iron fist” and 100% obedience to [Parliamentary Leader of the Opposition] Keir Starmer.

“Oldham Labour Party need a unifying leader who can mend and fix the damage done to the Party.

“Divisiveness of the past Leaders needs to end. If they choose the “same old” planted leaders, then they will suffer yet more losses in two years’ time.”

2025 is a ‘fallow year’ in Oldham when no local elections take place.

It is understood that Cllr Arooj Shah is facing down calls for her to resign and will stand for re-election at next weeks Oldham Labour Group Annual General Meeting. 

Omar Sharif astutely and energetically led the #TeamArooj campaign last year that saw the present Leader secure a landslide victory in St Mary’s. He ‘defected’ back to the Labour Party from The Oldham Group during the election campaign on the promise of a future safe council seat from Cllr Shah. A move about which he now has obvious misgivings.

What a difference a year can make.

One senior Labour politician in the Region offers these views:

“Don’t think it’s fair to describe Amanda Chadderton as a plant, but that’s a minor point in what is a quite damning, but accurate, post”

Page last updated: Saturday 4th May, 2024 at 0825 hours

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Picture credit:TOG

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