Former Oldham council leader Arooj Shah has warned that identity politics is tearing communities apart, as the town marks the 25th anniversary of the race riots that swept across northern England. Shah, who stepped down as leader earlier in May after local elections left the council with no overall control, fears that the fragmentation of the vote in Oldham could lead to political deadlock elsewhere in the country.
More than three weeks after the elections, the borough of 250,000 residents remains in political stalemate, with parties unable to agree on leadership and terms for cooperation. Shah stated: 'Division is not what places like Oldham need. The far right and the far left are not healthy for any place. They instil raw rage in people – it's absolutely dangerous.'
In 2001, tensions erupted after a series of riots that began in Oldham and quickly spread to Burnley and Bradford. Since then, community cohesion projects had ensured 'no trouble on the street,' according to Shah. However, she claimed that unsubstantiated 'social media lies' alleging Labour had covered up the town's grooming gang scandal had poisoned town hall politics and intensified the 'horrific, dehumanising' racist and misogynistic abuse she received while in office. A safeguarding review found no evidence of a Labour cover-up.
'Absolutely the politics in Oldham are toxic – because there's a Muslim leader of the council and some people don't accept that,' Shah added. 'They think because I'm brown I'm related to [grooming gangs] but I'm one of the strongest voices in saying we need to deal with perpetrators. The most important people in that were the girls that were affected.'
She continued: 'Being a woman in elected office, from a marginalised community and working-class background, have contributed to the level of abuse. I've got voice messages saying: 'You deserve to be raped and you deserve to die you bitch.'' In 2021, Shah's car was torched, and last year a man was reported to police for threatening to kill her. She now requires Home Office security at events, and the council leader and chief executive's offices have attack-resistant doors. 'I can't go shopping. I can't go to [the new Oldham] market that I'm so proud of unless I've got security,' she said.
Despite these challenges, Oldham is bucking the trend of declining town centres with a £450 million regeneration scheme, and Eton College is planning to open a spin-off sixth-form academy in the town. 'Economic justice and community cohesion are inseparable,' Shah said. 'The issue we have in this country is class.' Last year, Oldham was named 'most improved council' at the Local Government Chronicle Awards, and Shah was named 'leader of the year.'
However, plans hang in the balance after Labour fell to 18 councillors in the May elections, with Reform now the second-largest party with 16, while the Oldham Group of pro-Gaza independents have 10. A crunch meeting has been scheduled for 15 June. Shah has accused Reform and the Oldham Group of 'weaponising' migration and Gaza respectively. 'You've got the far right telling white working class communities: 'You've been left behind because of immigrants', and you've got the Oldham Group saying: 'Nobody cares about you, nobody's done anything about Gaza.' I'm pro-Palestine, pro-Israel and pro-humanity – (but) Netanyahu is not waiting for Arooj from Oldham to give him a call.'
Reform has said Labour 'has learnt nothing' from the local election results. Lewis Quigg, Oldham's Reform group leader, added: 'Instead of talking nonsense, we are getting on with picking up large amounts of casework from Labour councillors who have done nowt and said nowt for years. Labour failed to deliver for Oldham.' Kamran Ghafoor, the Oldham Group leader, denied 'weaponising Gaza,' saying it mattered deeply to people in the borough. He added: 'This is not 'identity politics'; it is politics driven by conviction and representation. The opposition alliance has repeatedly tried to engage constructively about the future governance of Oldham council. No one should face racism, misogyny or hatred in public life … We wanted her leadership to succeed for the sake of Oldham. Unfortunately, many residents now feel the borough has become increasingly divided.'
Shah reflected: 'The thing that makes me so sad about the identity and grievance politics is that when my parents came over in the late 1950s, they did everything they could to integrate – everybody was one. I look at this playing out in my home town and think: this isn't the Oldham I know, which cares about each other and is resilient. Your divisiveness is tearing communities apart.'
