Oldham's Arooj Shah becomes the first Muslim woman in the North of England to be elected council leader

Oldham councillor Arooj Shah has become the first Muslim woman in the North of England to be elected as a council leader.
Oldham Council leader Arooj Shah Credit: Oldham Council

An Oldham councillor has become the first Muslim woman in the North of England to be elected as a council leader.

Arooj Shah, the Labour councillor Chadderton South, has served as Deputy Leader of Oldham Council since 2018.

She said she's honoured to be chosen to lead the Council and will be sworn in on the 19th of May. 

Cllr Shah has lived all her life in Glodwick, one of the country’s poorest wards, after her parents moved to the UK from Pakistan to work in the local textile industry in 1968.

Becoming a councillor for the first time in 2012, she was named ‘Young Councillor of the Year’ in 2013, alongside fellow Oldham councillors Amanda Chadderton and Sean Fielding, by the Local Government Information Unit.The council's previous leader Sean Fielding lost his seat in last week's election.