Toxic identity politics ‘tearing’ us apart, says former Oldham council leader

Exclusive: 25 years after race riots in north of England, Arooj Shah says extremist groups and lies about grooming scandal are poisoning Oldham

“Identity politics is tearing communities apart”, the former leader of Oldham council has warned, in the week marking the 25th anniversary of race riots across the north of England.

Arooj Shah quit as leader of the Greater Manchester borough earlier in May, after the local elections left the council with no group in overall control.

Shah now fears the fragmentation of the vote in Oldham – with Labour losing to Reform UK and pro-Gaza independents – may lead to political deadlock in other parts of the country.

More than three weeks since the elections, the borough – which has 250,000 residents – is in political stalemate, with parties yet to agree leadership and terms on working together.

Shah said: “Division is not what places like Oldham need. The far right and the far left are not healthy for any place. They instil raw rage in people – it’s absolutely dangerous.”

In 2001, tensions erupted after a series of riots, which began in Oldham and quickly spread to Burnley and Bradford. Since then, community cohesion projects within the borough had meant there had been “no trouble on the street”, Shah said

However, she said unsubstantiated “social media lies” that Labour had covered up the town’s grooming gang scandal had poisoned town hall politics and intensified the “horrific, dehumanising” racist and misogynistic abuse she received while in office. A safeguarding review found no evidence of a Labour cover-up.

“Absolutely the politics in Oldham are toxic – because there’s a Muslim leader of the council and some people don’t accept that,” she added.

“They think because I’m brown I’m related to [grooming gangs] but I’m one of the strongest voices in saying we need to deal with perpetrators. The most important people in that were the girls that were affected.

“Being a woman in elected office, from a marginalised community and working-class background, have contributed to the level of abuse. I’ve got voice messages saying: ‘You deserve to be raped and you deserve to die you bitch.’”

In 2021, Shah’s car was torched. Last year a man was reported to police for threatening to kill her. She has to attend events with Home Office security, and the council leader and chief executive’s offices have attack-resistant doors.

“I can’t go shopping. I can’t go to [the new Oldham] market that I’m so proud of unless I’ve got security,” Shah said.

Oldham is bucking the trend of declining town centres with a £450m regeneration