Toxic identity politics ‘tearing’ us apart, says former Oldham council leader
Arooj Shah says toxic identity politics, abuse and lies around grooming claims are deepening division in Oldham after a fragmented local election.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
The former Oldham council leader says identity-based grievance politics are inflaming tensions in the Greater Manchester borough, where no party has overall control after the May elections. She links the climate to extremist pressure, social media falsehoods and intense abuse directed at her.
A former council boss in Oldham says the town is being split apart by people arguing over identity, race, religion and politics. She thinks angry stories online and hardline groups are making things worse.
Oldham has no single party in charge after the recent election, so different groups now have to try to work together. That can be like several kids trying to steer one bike at once: if they pull in different directions, nobody gets far.
She also says she has faced horrible abuse and even danger just for doing her job. Her point is that towns work better when people focus on fixing problems together instead of blaming each other.
Analysis
What Shah is warning about
Arooj Shah, who stepped down as leader of Oldham council in early May, says the borough is being pulled apart by identity-driven politics. Her warning comes 25 years after the 2001 race riots that began in Oldham and spread to other northern English towns.
She argues that both the far right and the far left are feeding anger, and that false claims on social media about a Labour cover-up of the grooming scandal have made local politics more poisonous. A safeguarding review found no evidence of such a cover-up, but Shah says the rumours have intensified racist and misogynistic abuse toward her.
The local picture
Oldham’s council is now hung after the local elections. Labour fell to 18 councillors, Reform UK rose to 16, and the pro-Gaza Oldham Group won 10 seats, leaving leadership talks unresolved more than three weeks after voting. A crunch meeting is set for 15 June.
Shah says the borough’s problems are not just political but social and economic. She points to high security around her own work, including attack-resistant doors and police protection at events, after threats, arson and online abuse. At the same time, she says Oldham is trying to regenerate, with a £450m town-centre scheme and a planned Eton-linked sixth-form academy.
Her central message is that division is undermining the kind of civic trust needed for recovery. Reform blames Labour for long-term failure, while the Oldham Group says its politics are based on conviction and representation rather than exploitation.
Key points
- Arooj Shah says identity politics and grievance are intensifying division in Oldham.
- The council is hung after Labour lost ground and Reform UK and pro-Gaza independents gained seats.
- Shah says false online claims about a grooming scandal have helped fuel abuse against her.
- She warns that extremist politics on both sides can damage community cohesion.
- Oldham’s leadership remains unresolved, with a decisive meeting scheduled for 15 June.
