Monitoring officer to write to Secretary of State after council again unable to elect leader

The council said it will write to the Government to “formally advise of the situation”, but insisted that council services will “continue to operate as normal”.

Earlier this month Oldham's monitoring officer, Alex Bougatef, issued a section 5 report after stating that the authority’s failure to appoint a leader following the local elections had “progressed beyond ordinary political disagreement".

The report followed councillors' fourth unsuccessful attempt to elect a leader at a full council meeting on 15 July.

Oldham has been without a leader or cabinet since May's local elections, in which Labour lost seats and Reform UK made significant gains, leaving no party with a majority.

At an extraordinary meeting of full council this week (20 August), councillors were again unable to elect a Leader and form an administration.

Presenting the section 5 report, Bougatef said the lack of anyone in charge raised serious concerns about decision-making, accountability, and effective governance.

He said: "The appointment of a leader is not optional. It's a statutory requirement."

Also speaking in the meeting, Oldham chief executive Shelley Kipling said: “The section 5 report outlines the legal position we find ourselves in, having been unable to appoint a lead member for children's services.

“Without a lead member, it is unlikely that we would be able to demonstrate the required governance arrangements that are expected by the Department for Education and inspectors.”

She added: “Should a resolution not be found tonight, we will write to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government within 5 working days.”

During the meeting, seven proposals were put forward and all of them failed to pass.

According to Bougatef, the continued impasse represents a breach of the council's statutory duties under the Local Government Act 2000 and the Children Act 2004.

An Oldham Council spokesperson said: "At an extraordinary meeting of Full Council, councillors were again unable to elect a Leader and form an administration for Oldham Council. As a result, the Council's Monitoring Officer will write to the Secretary of State to formally advise of the situation.

"Council services continue to operate as normal, and arrangements remain in place to ensure the Council can fulfil its statutory responsibilities and continue delivering for residents, communities and partners across the borough. We will now await further correspondence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government."

Lottie Winson