[5] Part of Oldham is rural and semi-rural, with a quarter of the borough lying within the Peak District National Park.

[7] By the early 1970s, nationally, this system of demarcation was described as "archaic" and "grossly inadequate to keep pace both with the impact of motor travel, and with the huge increases in local government responsibilities".

The district was granted honorific borough status on 23 November 1973 by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, which allowed the council to have a mayor.

[14] It had been proposed in a government White paper that the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham include the former mill town of Middleton.

Noted as one of the more unpopular amalgamations of territory created by local government reform in the 1970s,[14][15][13] the Oldham borough underwent a £100,000 rebranding exercise in early 2008.

[19] In the early 20th century, following some exchanges of land, there were attempts to amalgamate Chadderton Urban District with the County Borough of Oldham.

[13][20] Officials believed the borough's image was outdated and that "often negative" national media coverage held and continues to hold back businesses and hampers attempts to attract new investors, visitors and external funding.

[20] There had been calls for the borough to be renamed to a "settlement-neutral" name (such as those of neighbouring districts of Calderdale, Kirklees and Tameside) as part of the rebranding.

[22] Since 1986, Oldham Council has effectively been a unitary authority that serves as the sole executive, deliberative and legislative body responsible for setting local policy, and allocating budget.

[citation needed][29] The membership of the Combined Authority is drawn from the Leaders or Executive Mayors of each of the ten councils.

[citation needed] In December 2012, Oldham was named ‘Most Improved Council’ at the Local Government Chronicle awards.

[30] A team of six experienced politicians and officers from the Local Government Association carried out another independent ‘peer review’ of Oldham Council in December 2013.

Their report said: "There has been a remarkable transformation in Oldham in recent years, both in terms of the place and in having established an ambitious and effective council.

There are six districts containing between two and five wards; Chadderton, Failsworth & Hollinwood, Oldham, Royton, Saddleworth & Lees and Shaw & Crompton.

The most famous member of the family was Hugh Oldham, Bishop of Exeter and founder of the Manchester Grammar School.

In the Metropolitan Borough's arms the gold chief (upper third of the shield) and chevron have "invected" or fluted edges.

In order to distinguish the crest from that of the county borough, it rises from a gold circlet bearing six red annulets.

The supporters recall the local authorities merged in 1974, and are made up of portions of the arms of the ancient manorial lords.

[citation needed] The badge is a black heptagon bearing a silver owl, the whole contained within a red annulet.

[67] Of the 89,703 households in Oldham, 56.6% of those aged 16 and over either live as a couple, are married, in a civil partnership or co-habiting, in line with the national average.

[67] Females continue to make up over half (51%) of Oldham's population, which is comparable to Greater Manchester, North West and national figures (50.6%, 50.9%, 50.8% respectively).

[67] Despite improvements in school and college outcomes, the proportion of residents with degree-level qualifications (18.6%) has fallen further behind national rates (27.4%).

The rise of the middle classes in Oldham has reflected the wider national trend, roughly steady from 1841 until 1921 and then increasing almost exponentially until 2001.

[74] In 2001, of 92,777 residents of Oldham in employment, the industry of employment was 20.4% retail and wholesale, 20.3% manufacturing, 10.7% health and social work, 9.2% property and business services, 7.5% education, 7.1% construction, 6.7% transport and communications, 5.0% public administration and defence, 4.6% hotels and restaurants, 3.6% finance, 0.8% energy and water supply, 0.5% agriculture, and 3.7% other.

In 2007, the Oldham LEA was ranked 122nd out of 148 in the country—and 8th in Greater Manchester—based on the percentage of pupils attaining at least 5 A*-C grades at GCSE including maths and English (35.4% compared with the national average of 45.8%).

This 12-month inquiry is to review Oldham's classrooms from 0 to 19 years and aims at raising standards and aspirations so that every child can achieve their full potential.

[87] Also in the borough are five of Greater Manchester's Sites of Special Scientific Interest, they are a section of Dark Peak,[88] the Ladcastle and Den Quarries,[89] the Lowside Brickworks,[90] the Rochdale Canal,[91] and part of the South Pennine Moors.

[97] The Metrolink extension, which was completed in 2014, was seen as crucial to regeneration plans for Oldham town centre and to change the nature of what it offers to residents, investors, and visitors.

Trams run directly to Manchester Victoria in under 30 minutes and onwards to national networks, and also to Rochdale railway station and town centre.