'Badly worded' motion leaves councillors furious as they vote to 'not not' take action

A 'badly worded' motion sparked confusion and outrage at Oldham town hall - after councillors appeared to vote for the opposite of what they thought they were voting for.

Councillors believed they had voted to remove the local authority from a controversial housing scheme, but the result has been interpreted in different ways.  

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The 30 opposition councillors voted against a report recommending 'not' to write a letter to Secretary of State Angela Rayner to withdraw the borough from Places for Everyone (PfE), a Greater Manchester housing policy approved by Oldham earlier this year. 

But a source told the LDRS that because of the 'confusing' wording of the motion, councillors voted 'not not' to write the letter. A separate motion will need to be submitted. 

Lib Dem and Conservative councillors are furious. Leader of the opposition Howard Sykes said: "We absolutely thought we were voting for the withdrawal. 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."

An Oldham Council spokesman said: "The report at the last meeting of the full council did not mandate officers to write to the secretary of state.

"We often advise councillors on how to ensure amendments follow the council's rules and encourage them to get in touch with us before submission so that councillors can conduct their vital role of democratic scrutiny."

Opposition groups have not submitted a new motion to withdraw from the PfE scheme ahead of next week's full council, prompting some councillors to take to social media to air grievances.

It remains to be seen how the matter will be resolved at Oldham's next full council meeting on December 18.