Oldham councillor Marie Bashforth quits Labour before election

Oldham councillor Marie Bashforth has quit the Labour Party just weeks before the local election, sitting as an independent for the final eight weeks of her term. The Royton South councillor, who has represented the ward since 2013, was deselected as Labour's candidate for the May 7 election and replaced by Kathryn England.

Bashforth claims her deselection came after she challenged the Labour leadership on issues including the handling of child sexual exploitation cases and the controversial Places for Everyone development plan, particularly concerning Beal Valley. 'I received a very blunt email saying I'd been deselected and I was devastated. I felt I'd been stabbed in the back,' she said.

The councillor failed to attend council meetings for several months following the deselection decision and was recently warned she must attend a meeting by the end of March or risk losing her position automatically. She has made clear she won't join any other political group or stand as an independent in her ward.

The Labour group expressed regret at Bashforth's withdrawal from council business but said she hadn't raised her concerns publicly or privately. The political makeup of the council will now stand at 26 Labour councillors, nine Liberal Democrats, nine Oldham Group independents, six Conservatives, three Reform UK members, and six area-specific independents.