Welcome to Oldham: A Town Where the Fallen are Forgotten

The 18th September 2021 marked the 9th anniversary of the murders of  the police officers NICOLA HUGHES and FIONA BONE. In Oldham, the hometown of NICOLA HUGHES, the Council once again failed to pay tribute to a child of the town, one of its own fallen.

The shame of the Council's actions is not lost on the townsfolk. Each day, forced to endure the hypocrisy and double standards of Oldham Council Leader AROOJ SHAH and her, quick to claim racists of the townsfolk. team of Labour Party Councillors, they do more than witness events, they experience first hand the prejudices of the town's leaders.

In stark contrast to failing to even acknowledge the sacrifice by this brave young woman, Cllr AROOJ SHAH's Oldham Council are spending tens of thousands of pounds promoting Black History Month and using this as an opportunity to raise awareness of hate crime. The barely unconscious undercurrent, by combining both, is that the victims are from black and minority ethnic backgrounds whilst the attackers are white.

In a town like Oldham, it is actions like this that breed resentment. Having lived in the town most of my life, I've come to the conclusion that breeding resentment by our town's leaders is not accidental. It is exactly what they want. On reflection, it is the one thing those that lead our town excel in. So no, when asked, I am not at all surprised at how Black History Month has been weaponised or the anniversary of the sacrifice of NICOLA HUGHES cast aside as an inconvenient footnote in the history of our town.