Fresh Elections Proposed for All 60 Oldham Council Seats 2026

Key Points

• According to UK Reform councillors in Oldham, they will push for all-out elections for all 60 seats in Oldham Council.
• This motion is predicted to be tabled at an extraordinary full council meeting.
• The party claims that the action is following the recommendations made in a Section 5 report by the monitoring officer of the council.
• The council has apparently not had a leader or even cabinet since the May 2026 local elections.
• The party claims that there have been four full council meetings that did not elect a leader.
• They claim that the council officials have been operating using emergency powers until the situation is sorted out politically.
• Councillor Lewis Quigg, a Reform UK group leader, has claimed that the council was “rudderless” and that people should vote for their leaders.
• The motion will necessitate the support from councillors for all borough-wide elections.
• The outcome of this to people will vary depending on whether this motion will be approved and if the electoral process allows an all-out poll early enough.
• This comes after the period of political fragmentation following the May elections.

Oldham (Manchester Mirror) August 19, 2026 – Reform UK councillors are preparing to call for all-out elections across Oldham Council, arguing that residents should be given the opportunity to choose a new administration after months without a council leader or cabinet.

The proposal is expected to be presented as a motion at a forthcoming extraordinary full council meeting. According to David Murphy of the Oldham Chronicle, the move follows a Section 5 report from Oldham Council’s monitoring officer, which Reform UK says concluded that the authority could not continue operating normally without political leadership.

The proposed motion would seek to make every one of the council’s 60 seats subject to a new election. Reform UK says the measure would resolve the hung council and provide a fresh mandate for the political group or groups able to form an administration.

Why is Reform UK calling for all-out elections?

Reform UK says the call is a response to the council’s continuing inability to elect a leader. The party claims Oldham has remained without political leadership since the May 2026 local elections and that four full council meetings have failed to produce a leader.

The council’s political situation followed an election in which no group appears to have secured a clear working majority. The resulting balance has left parties needing either an agreement, coalition or another form of arrangement to govern the authority.

Reform UK says those efforts have not produced a stable administration. Its councillors argue that the lack of agreement has prevented the council from operating with a clear political direction.

The party also claims that council officers have had to rely on emergency powers while the deadlock continues. That allegation places the dispute beyond a conventional disagreement over party control, because it raises questions about how the council is making decisions and maintaining services during the leadership vacuum.

The Oldham Chronicle reported that Reform UK’s motion will ask councillors to support all-out elections across the borough.

What did Lewis Quigg say?

Councillor Lewis Quigg, leader of the Reform UK group on Oldham Council, said Reform had won the largest share of the vote in May and accused other parties of refusing to accept the result or work constructively.

As reported by David Murphy of the Oldham Chronicle, Quigg said: “The people of Oldham spoke clearly in May. Reform won the most votes.”

He said the council had been without effective leadership for more than three months. Quigg characterised the situation as a failure of political cooperation, referring to what he described as “endless bickering, failed coalitions and grandstanding”.

Quigg also referred to the Section 5 notice and said it confirmed that the existing arrangement was unsustainable. He argued that the public should be asked to decide who should run the borough.

At the next full council meeting, Quigg said Reform UK would put forward a straightforward motion calling for elections to every seat on the council. He presented the proposal as an alternative to further negotiations between political groups.

The Oldham Chronicle reported Quigg as saying that Reform UK did not want further “backroom deals” or minority administrations supported by changing alliances. He called on councillors either to face voters or step aside so that a new democratic mandate could be established.

What is the Section 5 report?

A Section 5 report is a formal report issued by a council’s monitoring officer when the officer believes a proposal, decision or course of action may be unlawful or may lead to unlawful activity. In this case, Reform UK says the report addressed the council’s inability to continue operating without a leader or cabinet.

The details of the report, including its precise findings, recommendations and legal status, are important to understanding the next stage. The material available in the Oldham Chronicle report records Reform UK’s description of the document, but does not provide the complete text of the monitoring officer’s report.

That distinction matters because the political party’s interpretation of a formal council document is not the same as publication of the document itself. The council’s response, the full wording of the report and any legal advice connected with it would provide further context.

The Section 5 reference nevertheless indicates that the leadership dispute has become a governance issue. It suggests that the council’s officers have raised concerns about the authority’s ability to function within its legal framework while elected members remain unable to agree on political leadership.

How did Oldham reach this position?

Oldham’s current impasse follows the May 2026 local elections, after which the council was left without a clear political settlement. Earlier reporting by the Oldham Chronicle described Reform UK as the second-largest group, with 16 councillors, after Labour lost eight seats.

A previous Oldham Chronicle report, published in June 2026, said Oldham remained “effectively rudderless” after a Reform UK attempt to take control failed to attract sufficient support. That report also described a month-long deadlock after the local elections.

The earlier coverage indicates that Reform UK’s position has been consistent: the party has argued against secret agreements and coalitions and has called for a decisive change in how the borough is governed.

The May election was also notable for wider political competition. The Oldham Chronicle reported before polling that Reform UK and the Green Party were fielding candidates across all 20 neighbourhoods in the borough, compared with a more limited presence from those parties at the previous local contest.

That expansion increased the number of parties competing for seats and contributed to a more fragmented political environment. However, the available reporting does not establish that Reform UK’s proposed motion will automatically lead to new elections.

What happens next at Oldham Council?

The immediate next step is an extraordinary full council meeting. Reform UK is expected to place its motion before councillors at that meeting, asking them to endorse all-out elections across the borough.

The motion’s success would depend on the number of councillors supporting it and on the legal and administrative rules governing elections to the authority. The available report does not state when the extraordinary meeting will take place, whether the motion has been formally published, or whether other political groups intend to support it.

If councillors reject the proposal, the existing groups would still face the challenge of establishing a leader and cabinet. If it passes, further decisions would be needed about the legal route, timetable and arrangements for any election.

The political groups may also respond with alternative proposals. These could include a new attempt to form an administration, an agreement on a leader, or a temporary arrangement intended to restore ordinary council governance.

At present, the central issue is not only which party controls Oldham Council but whether the authority can secure a stable and legally compliant political structure.

What could all-out elections mean for residents?

An all-out election would place all 60 council seats before voters, rather than limiting a contest to a smaller number of wards or individual vacancies. Such a poll could give residents a direct opportunity to reconsider the balance of power created by the May election.

Supporters of Reform UK’s proposal argue that this could produce a clearer mandate and reduce dependence on shifting alliances. A decisive result could allow one group to form an administration or make it easier for several groups to negotiate a stable agreement.

However, an election would not guarantee a single-party majority. If voters again returned a fragmented council, the authority could face another period of negotiation. The outcome would therefore depend on both the electoral result and the willingness of parties to work together afterwards.

The proposal also places the focus on public accountability. Reform UK says the political groups should return to voters rather than continue negotiating an administration behind closed doors. Other parties may argue that the council should complete its term and that political disagreements should be resolved within the existing chamber.

The available reporting does not include responses from Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives, independent councillors or council officials to Reform UK’s latest proposal. Their views will be relevant to assessing the prospects of the motion and the wider political dispute.

Background: Oldham’s council leadership deadlock

Oldham Council entered the current dispute after the May 2026 local elections produced no clear governing arrangement. Labour remained the largest group but lost seats, while Reform UK strengthened its position and became the second-largest group with 16 councillors, according to earlier Oldham Chronicle reporting.

The council subsequently failed to elect a leader at several full council meetings. A Reform UK attempt to take control did not secure enough support, leaving the authority without a settled political administration.

The Oldham Chronicle reported in June that the council was still effectively without direction after a month of deadlock. The latest report says four full council meetings have failed to elect a leader and that the authority remains without a leader or cabinet.

Reform UK’s new proposal is therefore the latest stage in a dispute that began with the election result and developed into a question about the council’s capacity to govern.

Prediction: How could this affect Oldham residents?

For Oldham residents, the immediate effect is likely to be continued political uncertainty while councillors decide whether to support the motion. The proposal itself does not necessarily mean that an election will take place, because the motion would need political support and would have to proceed through the applicable legal and electoral arrangements.

If all-out elections are approved and held, residents could see renewed campaigning across all 60 council seats. That would give voters an opportunity to change the council’s political balance, but it could also prolong uncertainty during the election period.

The most significant possible outcome would be the creation of a stable administration able to appoint a leader and cabinet. That could improve political accountability by making it clearer which group is responsible for council decisions.

A second election could, however, return another hung council. In that scenario, residents might face further negotiations, coalition discussions and delays before a leadership structure is established.

The effect on local services will depend on how the council’s officers continue to operate while the political dispute remains unresolved. Reform UK’s claim that emergency powers are being used makes the council’s governance arrangements an important issue for residents, but the full Section 5 report and responses from council officials would be needed to determine the practical consequences.

The most likely short-term development is a further confrontation at the extraordinary full council meeting, followed either by a vote on Reform UK’s motion or by renewed negotiations among the political groups.