Oldham councillors have agreed a temporary way to keep the council running after five attempts to elect a leader ended in failure.

The breakthrough was sealed at a meeting on Wednesday, September 16, where Mayor Pam Byrne told members: "We are not bigger than the public."

Cllr Byrne, who represents Saddleworth North, said councillors are elected by the public and should put politics aside for the good of the town. She said repeated debate had shown broad support for working together, adding: "Our electorate is."

Under the arrangement, lead members from Labour, Reform UK, the Liberal Democrats and The Oldham Group will take charge of the four main committees. Saddleworth West and Lees' Cllr Sam AL-Hamdani will chair resources for the Liberal Democrats, while the Conservatives, led by Saddleworth South's Cllr Max Woodvin, will chair the Governance, Strategy and Resources Scrutiny Board.

Formal decision making powers will rest with chief executive Shelley Kipling, who will meet group leaders and their deputies fortnightly. She said she is currently taking all executive decisions using emergency powers, adding: "That is not how councils should function."

Ms Kipling said the proposals were based on best endeavour and warned: "I need to be clear that the alternative to our best endeavours in keeping council services running is intervention by the government." She said intervention would have to be paid for from an already squeezed budget, could affect staff retention and would limit the ability of the 60 elected members to set the direction of the council.

She added that without the use of those powers, the council would have been unable to keep everyday services running and would have forfeited millions of pounds of funding.

Reform UK leader Cllr Mark Wilkinson said his group intended to abstain from the vote. After a 50-minute adjournment, deputy leader Cllr Gary Tarbuck voted against and left the chamber. Cllr Brian Hobin said: "It looks like shenanigans again from certain parties in this place and we seem to be forgetting who is supposed to be here for the benefit of our residents."

The motion was passed, although Royton Independent Cllrs Maggie Hurley and Jade Hughes and Reform UK Cllrs Paul Taylor and Rob Jackson abstained. The measures will remain in place until a council leader is elected.