Councillor Howard Sykes MBE to retire from Oldham Council

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Oldham Borough’s longest serving councillor, is to retire from Oldham Council and has announced he will not be standing in the Council elections this May.

Standing in Howard's place for the Liberal Democrats will be his colleague, councillor Tom Penketh, who has served on Shaw and Crompton Town Council for the past three years, and who was the youngest councillor in the country when elected.

Councillor Sykes was first elected in 1987 and was Oldham’s youngest councillor at the time. He has always championed Oldham Borough and Shaw & Crompton and locked horns with Governments of all colours to fight for investment in the Borough, or against nationally imposed decisions where he thought they would damage the community.

He was leader of Oldham Council for three years between 2008 and 2011, with just some of the highlights and achievements including building several secondary schools, bringing Metrolink to Oldham Town Centre, sorting out the inherited financial mess, along with delivering a balanced and sustainable budget. Locally the 20 plus year fight to get a new health Centre in Shaw was finally achieved last year.

Councillor Sykes said: "It has been the honour and privilege of my life to serve and represent the community that has been my home all my life, and the place I have raised my family.  I say, 'thank you' to everyone who has given me their support over the past 40 years, allowing me to represent them on Oldham Council.”

“The job of representing Shaw now needs someone younger to give it 100%, which is why I am delighted Tom Penketh, who reminds me of myself when I started back in 1987, will be standing.

“If I stood again, and had the good fortune to be elected, I would be well over pension age when my term of office came to an end, and after a 40 year ‘shift’ serving our local community and Oldham, now is the time to retire from the Borough.”

However, there will be 'no slacking' for councillor Sykes, he says, between now and the council elections on 7th May.

“There's still so much to do and campaign on for Shaw & Crompton and the Borough, not least the lack of getting the basics right – pot holes, weeds, litter, grids, green spaces and the dreadful housing numbers Labour and their coalition Independent partners have forced into our Green Belt.”

Alongside campaigning for Oldham Borough, councillor Sykes has served nationally as Vice Chair of the Local Government Association (LGA) and was Leader of the national LGA Liberal Democrat Group for several years.  He was awarded the MBE in 2014 for services to local government, recognising his extensive work and leadership within the sector.  

Councillor Sykes remains a member of Shaw and Crompton Town Council and shall continue to serve the local community in that role.