RECAP: from the Oldham Elections with updates and reactions

Oldham’s local election count is underway tonight, with voters across the borough deciding who will take control of key council seats.

Labour will be looking to maintain its position in the borough, while opposition parties hope to make gains in several closely fought wards. Alongside the political drama, attention will also be on turnout levels, potential upsets and what the results could signal for Oldham’s wider political landscape.

Our live blog will bring you updates direct from the count, including every declaration, reaction from candidates and the latest developments as the results come in.

 Thank you for following our coverage! More reaction to follow later today.

Final result declared... Waterhead

After much chatter, Reform GAIN from Labour

Lib Dems HOLD Saddleworth South - by just two votes to Reform.

Reform GAIN Saddleworth North from Conservatives

Reform GAIN Saddleworth West & Lees from Lib Dems

 Four seats to declare...

Labour HOLD Werneth

Reform GAIN Crompton from Lib Dems

Oldham Group GAIN St Mary's from Labour 

Reform GAIN Royton North from Conservatives 

Reform GAIN Hollinwood from Oldham Group

 Still going... 11 out of 19 seats declared. 

Three results at once there...

Reform GAIN Shaw from Lib Dems

Reform GAIN Chadderton South from Labour 

Reform GAIN Chadderton North from Labour

Reform GAIN Failsworth East from Failsworth Independents

Barbara Beeley (Lib Dems) - 60

Andrew Brooks (Reform) - 2050

Laurrine DeMelchor (Green) - 369

Jane Dronsfield (Conservative) - 101

Chris Goodwin (Labour) - 474

Neil Hindle (Failsworth Ind) - 430

Labour HOLD Medlock Vale

Turnout - 40.47%

Shona Farnworth (Lib Dems) - 198

Victor Flowers (Reform) - 983

Cameron Gates (Green) - 432

Junaid Hussain (Labour) - 1283

Labour HOLD Chadderton Central 

Turnout - 44.72%

Katie Gloster (Lib Dems) - 149

Suleman Hussain (Green) - 456 

Nazrul Islam (Labour) - 1215

Iryna Kantorova (Conservative) - 88

Alexander Lomas (Reform) - 1015

Mohammed Razon (Ind) - 892

Independent GAIN Coldhurst from Labour

Turnout - 45.92%

Mohammed Abu Taleb (Ind) - 1892

Mohammed Ali (Ind) - 133

Abdul Malik (Labour) - 1471

Tayba Nazir (Green) - 464

Keith Pendlebury (Lib Dems) - 128

Elaine Whittingham (Reform) - 473

Reform GAIN St James' from Labour

Turnout - 39.5%

Angela Cosgrove (Labour) - 576

Roger Hindle (Lib Dems) - 158

Maqsood Hussain (Oldham Group) - 22

Amir Jhandad (Green) - 284

Tom Noble (Conservative) - 209

Gary Tarbuck (Reform) - 1938 

Reform GAIN Failsworth West from Labour. 

Turnout - 42.61%

Bernard Akin (Conservative) - 88

Roger Blackmore (Lib Dem) - 95

Peter Davis (Labour) - 584 

Andrew Jones (Green) - 507

Natalie Parren (Failsworth Ind) - 205

Mark Ruthven (Reform) - 1878 

Ruthven and Reform group leader Lewis Quigg pictured below: (Credit: LDRS)

The Oldham Group Party GAIN Alexandra from Labour.

Turnout - 45.01%

Susan Brown (Reform) - 689

Andrea Chaverra (Green) - 228

Martin Dinoff (Lib Dems) - 85

Carol Hardie (Ind) - 46

Shabir Hussain (Oldham Group) - 1552

Shaid Mushtaq (Labour) - 989

Anne Taylor (Ind) - 29

The first result is in here... Reform GAIN Royton South from Labour. 

Turnout: 44.8%

Kathryn England (Labour) - 645 

William Hingston (Conservative) - 267

Miranda Meadowcroft (Green) - 368

Tony Pinder (Reform) - 1922

Anthony Price (Independent) - 143

Christine Thompson (Lib Dems) - 144

 Getting close to some declarations here in Oldham. 

An Oldham councillor has seen his windscreen smashed at tonight’s count in the town centre. 

The vehicle belonging to Cllr Kamran Ghafoor from The Oldham Group has been parked on Union Street whilst proceedings have been ongoing at The Loom. 

A photo of the car has been shared with Roch Valley Radio and other media colleagues within the venue this evening.

Greater Manchester Police have been contacted for comment.  

 Verification has been completed. We now move to the sorting and counting stage. 

Oldham Council says it is investigating an issue affecting ballot papers in the Waterhead ward after reports that local election votes were disqualified due to a printing error.

A spokesperson for Oldham Council said: "We are aware of an issue affecting some ballot papers in the Waterhead ward. An investigation is underway to determine the extent.”

Read more here.

Most of the candidates and agents have arrived now in Oldham. The counting room is quite a tight and packed affair, all the parties vying to get a view of the action. 

20 seats are up for grabs tonight. Labour holds a minority control of the council here in Oldham, tonight they defend 11 seats, with a mixture of other parties and independents defending the other nine. 

In position at the Loom in Oldham Town Centre tonight, 20 seats are up for election. Polls have just closed, ballot boxes will arrive shortly for verification and then counting will begin. The Council haven't confirmed when the results are expected to be declared, but would expect it will be into the early hours of the morning. 

Good evening. With just two hours to go until polls close in Oldham’s local elections, attention is beginning to turn towards tonight’s count where parties across the borough will learn whether their campaigns have paid off.

Ballot boxes will be transported to the count venue later this evening, with candidates, councillors and activists set for a long night as results are declared ward by ward.

We’ll be live throughout the evening and into the night with updates from inside the count, including every result, reaction and the latest developments as they happen.