Two sitting councillors in Oldham have made a last-minute decision to split from the Labour party ahead of local elections over the party’s Gaza policy. 

Councillor Nyla Ibrahim, who last year became elected as the Labour candidate in Werneth, will now run as an Independent.

She is seconded by Shoab Akhtar, another Labour councillor for Werneth, who has also defected from the party. Coun Akhtar is not up for re-election this year.

In a statement, Cllr Akhtar wrote: “Unfortunately the current leadership nationally is not fit for purpose.  It has allowed total brutality to be inflicted on the citizens of Gaza by the Israeli regime.” 

Both councillors have publicly expressed condemnation of Labour leader Keir Starmer’s response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed following the October 7 attacks in Israel by Hamas.

Cllr Ibrahim claims that she was banned from printing a text about Gaza in her campaign leaflet, which led to her decision to go independent.

She said: “The local labour party tried to silence us over what we can and cannot say about the atrocities in Gaza. They have held no proper debate within the group and not answered the questions we have asked them about this issue.

“I wanted to include an article about Gaza in my leaflet and was told I was not allowed to do so. I cannot and will not be silenced and it is important to stand by the truth and our principles.” 

The local Labour party did not wish to comment on the allegations at this time.

Cllrs Akhtar and Ibrahim are reportedly joined by a number of Werneth ward officers, who have also left Labour.

The revelation came late on Friday (April 6) just before the deadline for councils to publish their candidates list for the upcoming election on May 2.

The move by both cabinet members has shifted the political landscape. For the last year, Labour has held an overall majority in the council, with 32 councillors – and more recently 33, after Coun Aftab Hussain switched from Independent to Labour earlier this year – out of 60.

But now, with 31 councillors, Labour holds a majority of just one. If Labour lose one or more seats in another ward in the May elections without gaining an equal amount elsewhere, the council could go into  ‘No Overall Control’ – meaning the leadership structure of Oldham Council could shift to a coalition between different parties or a ‘minority leadership’.

The move also sees Werneth without a Labour candidate for the first time. Nyla Ibrahim will run against Amjad Ali (Independent), Mohammed Salik Miah (Conservatives) and Hamza Uddin (Lib Dems) in the ward.