‘Badly worded’ motion leaves councillors furious as they vote to ‘not not’ take action
A poorly worded motion at Oldham town hall led to confusion, with councillors mistakenly voting against withdrawing from the controversial Places for Everyone housing scheme, believing they were voting in favor. The motion's wording resulted in a 'not not' vote, prompting outrage among opposition councillors. A new motion will be required to clarify the council's stance.
Confusion erupted at Oldham town hall when councillors accidentally voted against withdrawing from the controversial Places for Everyone housing scheme due to a badly worded motion.
The 30 opposition councillors believed they were voting to remove Oldham from the Greater Manchester housing policy when they opposed a report recommending ‘not’ to write to Secretary of State Angela Rayner. However, the double negative in the motion’s wording meant their votes effectively supported staying in the scheme.
“We absolutely thought we were voting for the withdrawal,” said Howard Sykes, leader of the opposition. “And there were two amendments to the motion that would have made that much clearer - but they were rejected ahead of the meeting. I don’t understand what the issue is.”
Liberal Democrat and Conservative councillors are furious about the outcome, which will require a separate motion to correct. An Oldham Council spokesman confirmed that “the report at the last meeting of the full council did not mandate officers to write to the secretary of state” and noted that the council advises councillors on ensuring amendments follow proper procedures.
Opposition groups have yet to submit a new withdrawal motion ahead of next week’s full council meeting. The matter remains unresolved ahead of Oldham’s next full council session on December 18.
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