The first female Muslim council leader in the North has said she was 'dehumanised' by a deliberate 'smear campaign' after she became the second Labour leader of Oldham Council to lose her seat in as many years.
Arooj Shah, who was first elected to the council in 2012, became leader in May 2021 after her predecessor Sean Fielding lost his seat in that year's election.
Shah, who represented Chadderton South, lost her seat by just 96 votes to Conservative candidate Robert Barnes. Speaking to the Manchester Evening News after the result was announced, Shah slammed what she described as a 'really personal campaign'.