Arooj Shah | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Leader of Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council | |||||||||||||||||||||
Assumed office 8 May 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Amanda Chadderton | ||||||||||||||||||||
Member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority | |||||||||||||||||||||
Assumed office May 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Amanda Chadderton | ||||||||||||||||||||
Member of Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council for St Mary's | |||||||||||||||||||||
In office 4 May 2023 – | |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||
Born | September 1978 (age 44) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||||||||||
[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||
Arooj Shah is a British Labour politician and since May 2023 is the leader of Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council in Greater Manchester,a position she also previously held between 2021 and 2022. As leader she is a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and is the combined authority's portfolio lead for Equalities and Communities. [2] She was the first Muslim woman to take charge of a council in the north of England. [3]
First elected to the council in 2012,she was the councillor for the Chadderton South ward. She was elected as leader of the council in May 2021 after her predecessor Sean Fielding lost his seat in that year's election. Shah lost her seat in 2022 being beaten by Robert Barnes the Conservative candidate. She later re-gained a seat on the council at the 2023 election,topping the poll in the St Mary's ward. [4] Following the election,at which incumbent leader Amanda Chadderton was defeated,Shah was elected to lead the council again. [5]
Less than two months after her election as leader,in the early hours of the night of the 13 July 2021,Shah's car was deliberately set alight in what Greater Manchester Police described as a "reckless,abhorrent act". [6] The car and neighbouring property were damaged but nobody was injured as a result of the attack. [7]
Shah's relationship with Mohammed Imran Ali (known locally as "Irish Imy") has been the subject of much speculation and criticism. Ali is a convicted heroin trafficker that has been in and out of prison for most of his adult life. He was convicted in 2013 for being the getaway driver for Dale Cregan,a gangster who had assassinated a gangland rival in a turf war. While on the run Cregan lured two female Greater Manchester police officers to an address in neighbouring borough Tameside,where he cold-bloodedly murdered them by gunning them down and throwing a grenade onto their bodies. [8] [9]
At a full council meeting in 2020,as Deputy Leader of Oldham Council,Shah addressed long-standing rumours about her relationship with Ali,explaining she had known him since she was 11 years old. [10] Shah's relationship with Ali was subject to further criticism when he started a vigilante group to patrol the streets of Oldham in the Chadderton and Werneth areas. Whilst Shah expressed reservations about Ali's plans,she stopped short of condemning them. [9] [11] This prompted a backlash by residents;local community campaigner,Robert Barnes,wrote to the Chief Executive of Oldham Council,Carolyn Wilkins,asking her if she thought it was "acceptable for street patrols to be carried out by a convicted getaway driver and heroin dealer?" [11] Barnes subsequently stood against Shah in the Chadderton South ward as the Conservative candidate at the 2022 Local Eelections,defeating her by 96 votes,leaving Oldham Council searching for a new leader for the second year running. [12]
Chadderton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham,Greater Manchester,England,on the River Irk and Rochdale Canal. It is located in the foothills of the Pennines,1 mile (1.6 km) west of Oldham,4.5 miles (7.2 km) south of Rochdale and 6 miles (9.7 km) north-east of Manchester.
The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in England. It is named after its largest town,Oldham,The borough had a population of 237,628 making it the seventh-largest district by population in Greater Manchester. The borough spans 55 square miles (142 km2).
Oldham West and Royton is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It has been represented by Jim McMahon of the Labour Co-op party since 4 December 2015,after winning a by-election following the death of Michael Meacher on 21 October 2015.
Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport,Greater Manchester,England. The council is currently run by a Liberal Democrat minority administration. At the 2023 local elections,the Liberal Democrats gained two more seats,increasing their lead over the Labour Party to six seats,and retaining minority control. The Liberal Democrats currently have 30 seats,Labour 24,and the Heald Green Ratepayers,Greens and the Edgeley Community Association each holding 3.
Salford City Council elections are generally held three years out of every four,with a third of the council being elected each time. Salford City Council is the local authority for the metropolitan borough of Salford in Greater Manchester,England. Since the last boundary changes in 2020,60 councillors have been elected from 20 wards.
Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council elections are generally held three years out of every four,with a third of the council being elected each time. Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority for the metropolitan borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester,England. Since the last boundary changes in 2004,57 councillors have been elected from 19 wards. New ward boundaries have been prepared to take effect from the 2023 election.
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council elections are generally held three years out of every four,with a third of the council being elected each time. Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council,generally known as Oldham Council,is the local authority for the metropolitan borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester,England. Since the last boundary changes in 2004,60 councillors have been elected from 20 wards. New ward boundaries are due to come into effect from the 2023 election.
The 2000 Oldham Council election took place on 4 May 2000 to elect members of Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council in Greater Manchester,England. One third of the council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats gained overall control of the council from the Labour Party.
On 18 September 2012,two Greater Manchester Police officers,Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone,were killed by Dale Cregan in a gun and grenade ambush while responding to a report of a burglary in Tameside,Greater Manchester,England.
Coalshaw Green is a locality in the town of Chadderton in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham,Greater Manchester.
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council,branded and commonly referred to as Oldham Council,is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester,England. It is a metropolitan district council,one of ten in Greater Manchester and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England,and provides the majority of local government services in Oldham. It is composed of 60 councillors,three for each of the 20 electoral wards of the borough.
James Ignatius O'Rourke McMahon is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Environment,Food and Rural Affairs since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Oldham West and Royton since 2015 under the Labour and Co-operative banner.
The Oldham West and Royton by-election was a UK parliamentary by-election held on 3 December 2015 in the constituency of Oldham West and Royton in Greater Manchester. This was the first by-election of the 56th UK Parliament.
James Barry Daly is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the member of Parliament (MP) for Bury North since the 2019 general election.
Chadderton Town Hall is a municipal building on Middleton Road,Chadderton,Greater Manchester,England. The town hall,which was the headquarters of Chadderton Urban District Council,is a grade II listed building.
The 2022 Manchester City Council election took place on 5 May 2022. One third of councillors on Manchester City Council were elected. This election was a part of the other local elections across the United Kingdom.
The 2022 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. One third of councillors—20 out of 60—were be elected. The election took place alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom.
The 2022 Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. One third—20 out of 60—of councillors on Oldham Council was elected. The election took place alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom.
Amanda Chadderton is a British Labour politician and former leader of Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council. Prior to becoming leader,she was the deputy leader and cabinet member with responsibilities for neighbourhoods.
The 2023 Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council elections took place on 4 May 2023 alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom. Due to boundary changes all 60 seats on Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council were contested.
Date of birth: September 1978