Council with no leader faces government takeover

Government commissioners could be brought in to run a leaderless council, after councillors once again failed to form an administration.

Members of Oldham Council held an extraordinary meeting on Thursday evening to resolve the stalemate of no political party having an overall majority.

The authority's chief executive is now advising the government of the situation, which came about after Labour lost eight seats and Reform UK took seven in the elections in May, leaving no party with an overall majority.

An Oldham Council spokesperson said: "As a result, the council's monitoring officer will write to the Secretary of State to formally advise of the situation."

The spokesperson said council services continued to operate as normal, and arrangements remained in place to ensure the council could 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," they said.

The latest meeting was called following a report by the council's top legal officer, Alex Bougatef, who said it was his legal duty to declare the local authority is breaking the law.

Presenting the 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."

On Thursday evening, seven proposals were put forward and all of them failed to pass, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Labour and Reform put forward bids to form a minority administration, as well as an alliance made up of smaller parties and an independent councillor.

Reform also put forward proposals that would see councillors elected at the ballot box in May 2027, arguing it should be up to the people to decide.

However, other parties argued this was not a "quick fix" and described the proposal of further elections as "passing the buck", warning the council would still require a leader over the coming nine months before any election.

Bougatef's declaration, which came in what is called a Section 5 report, set in motion a process that could see outside intervention in the wake of no solution.

He has warned there could be 'significant' financial costs coming down the line should commissioners be required.

Commissioners are officials sent by the UK government to help run councils deemed to be failing or breaking the law, most often when a council is declared bankrupt.

Commissioners being imposed due to a political quarrel such as has arisen in Oldham is thought to be a first and could cost £1,200 or more a day.

Conservative councillor Beth Sharp said: "Doing nothing comes at a cost and that cost isn't being paid by us.

"It's paid for by the residents who elected us."

Chief executive Shelley Kipling said, while council services are continuing as they did before, the lack of a leader or elected members in key roles puts at risk how key children's and adults services are assessed

In a plea to members, she said: "I am hopeful we can find a way forward that reflects an immense amount of work that has gone on behind the scenes."

In response to a question later in the meeting, she said the government had escalated their oversight of the situation in recent weeks, telling councillors this suggested an "anticipation of a requirement for government intervention or greater more formalised support".

The government has been approached for comment.

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