Labour in Oldham voted against the construction of three health centres in Shaw & Crompton, Chadderton and Saddleworth, while voting to carry on spending more than £68 million on the renovation of Spindles shopping centre in the next five years.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani said: “During the council meeting, there was a very emotive speech by one of the Labour councillors about being unable to put money towards health centres while there was hunger in the borough. I don’t understand why that doesn’t apply when it comes to spending on shopping centres.”

The £68.3 million spending is in addition to the original purchase price for the centre, which was more than £10 million.

Councillor Al-Hamdani continued: “Regeneration of the town centre is vital. We need to have ambitious plans for Oldham. But the Labour Council hasn’t even finished its consultation on what to do with the Spindles, and yet it has already budgeted for the work it is going to do. It sounds more like Spendles than Spindles to me.

“They say they have provided ‘more detail’ to the Towns Fund on its plans for the Spindles, in order to try and ensure that they get that funding. Where has that detail come from, and does it allow for the public’s response to the consultation?  Or is that consultation just a sham and they already decided what they are doing.

“The whole discussion seems riddled with inconsistencies. They are saying we can spend money on the Spindles while children are hungry, but we can’t spend it on health centres – health centres that were in the Labour’s Budget last year, but they have axed this year.

“It just leaves the Liberal Democrats asking more and more questions about how this Council is spending, or choosing not to spend, taxpayers’ money.”