A rush to take charge

THE FRIDAY THING: THERE appears to be a rush of people wanting to put themselves forward to be elected on to Oldham Council.

Have all the want-to-joins actually looked in on some local meetings? To be fair, it mainly offers the opportunity of an afternoon or early evening nap. But it’s tough out there: imagine how leadership contender Dave Hibbert must feel after he was brushed aside by some no doubt eager beaver.

Jim McMahon certainly got the best deal when he was voted MP for Oldham West and Royton and now there’s a list going the rounds for new council leader that includes several excellent would-be candidates, including Arooj Shah who has been named Young Councillor of the Year.

A new face and voice will be a welcome change for Oldham and its line-up of usual suspects. But I hope we haven’t seen the last of Dave Hibbert, who has been at the heart of Oldham for a long, long time.



FINAL WORD: I doubt very much that Oldham Athletic chairman Simon Corney wants to make a habit of coming to Oldham to keep an eye on the football team he bosses. What he really wants is to see his team winning. Don’t we all!