Arooj Shah: New leader promises to deliver on her 'clear vision' for Oldham

New Oldham Council Leader Arooj Shah has re-affirmed her determination to deliver on her recent local election pledge to 'clean up' the Borough.

It’s now only a matter of days before Chadderton South Councillor Shah has her official appointment confirmed next Wednesday, May 19, as he takes over from ousted former leader Sean Fielding, who lost his Failsworth West ward seat to the Failsworth Independent Party.

A hectic new role awaits the former Deputy Leader of the Borough, but further outlining he aspirations for the town in an exclusive Chronicle interview this week, Cllr Shah said: “At the election, the Labour Party created a really clear vision for Oldham, regarding making it cleaner, greener, safer and revitalising the town centre.

“We also stated our intention to recover positively from the pandemic, and while we did suffer some seat losses, we do remain by far the largest political party in Oldham and we received by far the most votes.

“Therefore I have a responsibility to deliver on those manifesto pledges.

“I will have my own leadership style, but the responsibility to deliver that vision is mine.”

She added: “I just want Oldham’s residents to be proud of the place where they live.

“Part of that is re-instilling confidence, and I want to do that out there in the community, and not necessarily from the Civic Centre.

“I feel it’s so important that the council cleans up the streets – that’s my most important priority.

“As well as that, though, the pandemic has shown that there are huge inequalities in Oldham and I want to narrow the gaps in those inequalities and make sure that everyone has the same opportunities in life.

“I’ve lived my whole life in Oldham, I love this place and I want to help its people to make it an even better place to live.

“The reality is a lot of people in Oldham are struggling, young people are worried about their futures and people have lost work because of the pandemic.

“I just want to support all those people and help them not just get by in life, but to get on in life.”

Cllr Shah aims to build on what she saw as a ‘big endorsement’ from Oldhamers at the local elections last Thursday, despite the shock loss of some seats on the night.

Cllr Shah added: “Nationally there has been a mixed picture of Labour, with bad results in some places and fantastic results in others, not least with Andy Burnham’s re-election as Greater Manchester Mayor of course.

“While Oldham wasn’t immune from the national situation, I thought the local elections did provide a strong endorsement for our work and our visions for the Borough.

“We’ve still got two-thirds of the councillors in Oldham and Borough-wide, we got by far the most votes.

“My priority isn’t necessarily to worry about the national situation one way or another, mine is to lead the Borough out from the pandemic and to be a strong voice for Oldham’s residents.

“Overall we did quite well.

“There were some losses that we need to reflect on, but we are by far the largest party in the town still and I see that as a big endorsement.”

She has mentioned it before, but the cleaning up of Oldham’s streets has been a huge issue for residents of late, so again Cllr Shah has sought to offer some reassurances to the townsfolk.

Cllr Shah said: “One thing that did across from the doorsteps was the frustration at the amount of litter and fly-tipping that is going on.

“It’s therefore a priority that I intend to increase investment in our street cleaning team and I want the council to take a tougher line with fly-tippers.

“They should be dealt with as firmly as possible.

“I want Oldham’s residents to know that the council is on their side.

“Whether that be by working together to keep neighbourhoods clean, dealing with bad landlords or helping local businesses to grow and create more jobs, I want them all to know that the council is there for them.

“I want the council to connect ourselves with residents.”

Cllr Amanda Chadderton will become Cllr Shah’s Deputy Leader, along with Cllr Abdul Jabbar, who is already in the role.

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