2026 Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council election
7 May 2026
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The 2026 Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council election will take place on Thursday 7 May 2026, alongside other local elections in the United Kingdom. One third of the 60 members of Oldham Council in Greater Manchester will be elected.
Following the 2024 election, Oldham fell into no overall control. A minority Labour administration was formed which continues to govern.
Background
Labour have traditionally formed the administration of Oldham Council. From its creation in 1973 to 2024, Labour have formed majority administrations apart from the periods between 1994 and 1995, 2000 and 2003 (when the Liberal Democrats became the largest single party), and 2007 and 2011 (having again been overtaken by the Liberal Democrats).[2]
The 2024 election saw Labour lose four seats, and with it their majority on the council. Two independent councillors (both part of the Independent Group on the council) supported the incumbent Labour leader Arooj Shah in a confidence vote, allowing the Labour administration to continue as a minority.[3] Two other groupings of independents existed following the election; the Oldham Group (consisting of ex-Conservatives and anti-Labour independents)[4] and the Royton Independents (consisting of the two independent councillors for Royton South). The Oldham Group has since registered as a political party.[5]
New ward boundaries were used for the 2023 election – this election will be for the councillors who placed second in each of the twenty three-member wards.[6] Labour will be defending eleven seats, the Liberal Democrats will be defending four, the Conservatives will be defending three, independents will be defending one, and the Failsworth Independent Party will be defending one.
Council composition
| After 2024 election | Before 2026 election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Seats | Party | Seats | ||
| Labour | 27 | Labour | 27 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | 9 | Liberal Democrats | 9 | ||
| Oldham Group | N/A | Oldham Group | 9 | ||
| Conservative | 8 | Conservative | 6 | ||
| Reform UK | 0 | Reform UK | 3 | ||
| FIP | 2 | FIP | 2 | ||
| Independent | 14 | Independent | 4 | ||
Changes 2024–2026:
- January 2025: Graham Sheldon (Conservative) leaves party to sit as an independent[7]
- August 2025: The Oldham Group Party formed – Shoab Akhtar (Independent), Zaheer Ali (Independent), Montaz Ali Azad (Independent), Naveed Chowan (Independent), Kamran Ghafoor (Independent), Nyla Ibrahim (Independent), Aisha Kouser (Independent), Graham Sheldon (Independent), and Abdul Wahid (Independent) join party
- September 2025: Sandra Ball (Independent), Lewis Quigg (Conservative), and Mark Wilkinson (Independent) join Reform[8]
Summary
Election result
| 2026 Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council election | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | This election | Full council | This election | |||||||
| Seats | Net | Seats % | Other | Total | Total % | Votes | Votes % | +/− | ||
| Labour | 15 | |||||||||
| Liberal Democrats | 5 | |||||||||
| Oldham Group | 8 | |||||||||
| Conservative | 4 | |||||||||
| Independent | 4 | |||||||||
| Reform UK | 3 | |||||||||
| FIP | 1 | |||||||||
| Green | 0 | |||||||||
Incumbents
| Ward | Incumbent councillor | Party | Re-standing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandra | Shaid Mushtaq | Labour | ||
| Chadderton Central | Nazrul Islam | Labour | ||
| Chadderton North | Colin McLaren | Labour | ||
| Chadderton South | Chris Goodwin | Labour | ||
| Coldhurst | Abdul Malik | Labour | ||
| Crompton | Louie Hamblett | Liberal Democrats | ||
| Failsworth East | Neil Hindle | FIP | ||
| Failsworth West | Peter Davis | Labour | ||
| Hollinwood | Abdul Wahid | Oldham Group | ||
| Medlock Vale | Junaid Hussain | Labour | ||
| Royton North | Christine Adams | Conservative | ||
| Royton South | Marie Bashforth | Labour | ||
| Saddleworth North | Luke Lancaster | Conservative | ||
| Saddleworth South | Helen Bishop | Liberal Democrats | ||
| Saddleworth West & Lees | Alicia Marland | Liberal Democrats | ||
| Shaw | Howard Sykes | Liberal Democrats | ||
| St James | Angela Cosgrove | Labour | ||
| St Mary's | Aftab Hussain | Labour | ||
| Waterhead | Peter Dean | Labour | ||
| Werneth | Fida Hussain | Labour | ||
References
- ^ Labour minority.
- ^ "Oldham Council Composition: Latest". opencouncildata.co.uk. Open Council Data UK. Archived from the original on 9 February 2026. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
- ^ "Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council Election Results 1973-2012" (PDF). Elections Centre. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "Labour narrowly retain control of Oldham Council". BBC News. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ Hall, Charlotte (25 September 2025). "Councillors in The Oldham Group join forces with George Galloway for election". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "The Oldham Group Party". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ The Oldham (Electoral Changes) Order 2022
- ^ Boothroyd, David. "North Devon Liberals get Instow". LocalCouncils.co.uk. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "Reform UK welcomes THREE councillors on Oldham Council". Oldham Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 31 December 2025.