Oldham leader loses seat as Labour hold Greater Manchester councils

Oldham's council leader, Labour's Arooj Shah, lost her seat

Oldham Council's Labour leader has lost her seat to the Conservatives.

Labour's Arooj Shah, who became the north of England's first female Muslim council leader in 2021, was edged out in the Chadderton South ward by the Tories, who won by 96 votes.

Despite the loss, Oldham will remain Labour-run, as will Manchester, Rochdale, Salford, Bury, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.

Bolton and Stockport stay under no overall control.

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In Oldham, independents gained three seats while the Conservatives and Lib Dems picked up a seat apiece from Labour.

Labour now has 35 councillors, way ahead of the Tories and Lib Dems, who now both have nine.

After losing her seat, Ms Shah complained about some of her rivals' campaigns, saying she had felt "dehumanised".

The Conservatives have strongly denied any such behaviour.

In Manchester, Labour had a massive hold, winning 30 out of the 32 seats being contested, which council leader Bev Craig said represented a "strong showing" for the party.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said long-serving Lib Dem councillor John Leech held his Didsbury West seat by nearly 900 votes, despite Labour targeting it.

The election also saw Astrid Johnson take Woodhouse Park from Labour to become the city's second Green councillor. 

She said she was "incredibly humbled and grateful to the residents of Woodhouse Park". 

Astrid Johnson, pictured with Rob Nunney, said she was "incredibly humbled" to be voted in

In Stockport, the Lib Dems gained two seats and now have 28 - three clear of minority leaders Labour. The Tories have five seats while the Greens have two.

Stockport's Lib Dem leader Mark Hunter said it had been a "great night" for his party, adding he was "really pleased" with the results.

He added "it would be foolish to not acknowledge that the Conservative Party nationally is in some disarray".

It was a bad night for the Conservatives there, though. They lost three seats and now only have five.

The Greens gained one seat to now have two councillors.

Lib Dem Mark Hunter said it had been a "great night" for his party in Stockport

The Conservatives remain the biggest force in Bolton, with 23 of the 60 seats, four ahead of Labour, after gaining one seat.

Labour are on 19 with the Lib Dems on five. The other 13 are held by independents or hyper-local parties.

The Conservatives will likely again have to do deals in order to continue leading a coalition.

Council leader Martyn Cox said it was a "really good result" after he was re-elected.

"Many people were saying it was going to be a bellwether seat for Labour, but actually we have gained one seat," he said.

Bolton Conservative leader Martyn Cox said it had been a "really good result" as he was re-elected

In Rochdale, despite Labour losing six seats, the party still remain in control with 42 seats, with the Conservatives, who gained one seat, holding 10.

The Middleton Independents Party won five seats and Lib Dems hold three.

Labour also lost two seats to the Conservatives in Tameside but easily remain in control.

They have 48 of the 57 seats while the Tories have eight and the Greens have one.

Labour held on to Bury, winning an additional seat, while independents picked up six seats.

The Conservatives lost four council wards, while Lib Dems also lost three seats.

Labour now have 29 seats on the council, followed by the Conservatives with 12, alongside nine independents and one Lib Dem.

It was a similar story in Trafford with Labour retaining its hold and gaining a seat although there was a one-seat gain for the Greens in the borough.

The Lib Dems won two seats at the expense of the Conservatives, including taking Tory group leader Nathan Evans's seat in Timperley.

Labour now has 41 seats with the Tories holding 13, Lib Dems five and Greens four.

Council leader Andrew Western told the LDRS he was ecstatic.

"We won everything we could and we won it well," he said.

Trafford Council's Labour leader Andrew Western said he was ecstatic

In Wigan, Labour gained three seats while the Conservatives lost one and independents ceded two.

Labour now has 61 of the 75 seats, with the Tories occupying seven.

What are the results in my area?

While the Labour Party also remains dominant in Salford, it lost three seats to Conservatives, Lib Dems and Independents.

The Red Rose represents 49 of the 60 seats on Salford council, way ahead of the Tories with eight seat and the Lib Dems with two.

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