Councillor resigns after just ten months in the role

Cllr Sahr Abid

A Conservative councillor on Oldham council has resigned, just ten months after being elected to her seat.

Sahr Abid, councillor for the Medlock Vale ward, which includes Bardsley, Hathershaw, Fitton Hill and Coppice is understood to have emailed her resignation to Chief Executive Harry Catherall.

The resignation will trigger a by election in the seat which is expected to be held on the same date as the rest of the council elections this year on May 5th.

Cllr Abid won the seat for the Conservatives in May 2021 with a majority of 568 and 48% of the vote.  The Labour party were in second place with a 33% share.

Sahr Abid was born and raised in Coppice and works in the legal profession, and previously criticised the Labour-run council for the 'neglect' of the town.

It's understood the councillor cited 'work commitments' as the reason behind her resignation, though rumours persist that Ms Abid was unhappy with the effect her party's policies were having on the cost of living crisis.

Commenting on the reports of policy disagreements, Chris Gloster, Deputy Liberal Democrat Leader said "If that is the case I can certainly understand why a councillor would find it impossible to reconcile representing Oldham’s residents – among the hardest hit by this crisis – with being a member of a party which is doing so little to help those hit hardest from rising fuel costs and the extortionate rise in the cost of living."

Conservative group leader on Oldham Council, Graham Sheldon, has been approached for a comment by the Oldham Chronicle.

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