Battle lines drawn in race for Oldham

THE future of Oldham is up to you as 64 candidates prepare to do battle in the May 5 local elections.

A third of the 60 council seats are up for grabs — one in each ward — with Labour and the Liberal Democrats hoping to snatch overall control.

They currently have 27 seats each, with the four Conservatives forming a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. There is also one Green and one Independent councillor.

The two main parties are defending nine seats each. They will field candidates in every ward. The biggest scalp on the line is Labour leader Jim McMahon in Failsworth East.

The Conservatives are fighting 18 seats and there are two Green Party candidates and four Independents, including parish councillor Ken Hulme in Saddleworth North.

Whatever happens, new faces are guaranteed in six wards.

Oldham Mayor and Chadderton South Labour councillor David Jones, first elected to the council in 1980, is retiring. Two former Liberal Democrat mayors are also stepping down: Christine Wheeler in Saddleworth South (after 23 years) and Jim McArdle in St James (17 years).

Labour’s Glynis Shaw is retiring in Alexandra after seven years and Ged Ball has been deselected for the party in Medlock Vale after 21 years. He did not want to comment, but asked if he would stand again he said: “Ask me in 12 months’ time when I have had a year off.”

Len Quinn, who switched from the Conservatives to become an Independent, is not standing in Chadderton North.

The polls are open from 7am to 10pm — the same day as the national referendum on the Alternative Vote.

Len Quinn switched from the Conservatives to become an Independent. He has been a councillor for 10 years.

He said: “I will be actively supporting the Labour candidate because the Tories and the Lib-Dems have treated the residents of Chadderton shamefully.

“They have cut 800 jobs with no regard for the consequences in Oldham. They are closing the old people’s homes, cutting the winter payment and destroying the NHS.

“The last straw was the proposal by the Tory leader and Chadderton North councillor to close the Oak Bank community centre in Chadderton. It did not go ahead only because I threatened to resign.”


Registration deadline looms
LOCALS are being urged to use their vote as the deadline for registration is fast approaching.

The local elections and the referendum on voting reform will take place on Thursday May 5, but the earliest deadline for voters is next week.

The application deadline for a postal vote is Thursday, April 14, while the proxy vote deadline is Thursday, April 21.

Residents must be on the electoral roll to vote. Anyone not registered should contact Oldham Council’s Elections Office before Thursday, April 14. Tickets to witness the count from the public gallery at the Queen Elizabeth Hall are also now available on a first-come-first-served basis, with the local count taking place from 10pm on May 5. The count for the Saddleworth and Shaw parish elections and the Alternative Vote referendum will take place the following day.

Contact Oldham Council’s elections office with any queries on 0161-770 4718 or email election@oldham.gov.uk.


Parish ballot
Voters also go to the polls in the Shaw & Crompton and Saddleworth parish council elections on May 5.

There will be a walkover in two wards in Shaw & Crompton after seven candidates came forward for a total of seven seats in the East and South wards, all Liberal Democrats.

In the North and West wards, 11 candidates — three Conservatives, one Independent and seven Liberal Democrats — will contest seven seats.

In Saddleworth there are a total of 40 candidates for 20 seats in six wards. Seven Independents are standing plus 20 Liberal Democrats, 10 Tories and three Labour.

The biggest battle will be in Greenfield where 13 will fight it out for five seats.