Newcastle City Council leader takes immediate leave of absence
Nick Kemp announced he would be stepping back due to ill health
Newcastle’s council leader is to take a leave of absence.
Nick Kemp announced on Friday morning that he would be stepping back from his duties immediately due to ill health, with his deputy Karen Kilgour stepping up.
The long-serving Byker councillor has been in charge at Newcastle City Council since 2022, when he succeeded Nick Forbes as the city’s Labour leader.
Coun Kilgour said:
“As a cabinet our priority will always be the residents of Newcastle. They are at the heart of everything we do and any decision we take.
“I will be working with elected members and council officers to ensure there is continuity in our planning so we can continue to deliver against our strategic priorities.
“This is such an exciting time for Newcastle with investment in the city and opportunity for those people who call it home. It is very much business as usual.
“I have always served my communities with pride, whether that be as a councillor in West Fenham, in my position as a Cabinet member or as deputy leader.”
Coun Kemp, who runs his own public relations firm, has long been a prominent figure in city politics and has represented Byker on the council since 2002.
His time in command at the council HQ has seen the local authority scrap Your Homes Newcastle and take back control of its housing stock, as well as introducing new economic and anti-poverty strategies.
The 55-year-old was also involved in negotiations for the North East devolution deal and has overseen the start of work on the Tyne Bridge’s restoration.
But he has been met with controversy surrounding his connections to housing company Orca, with the council having to spend more than £4 million to finish a development after the firm went bust, while senior figures at the authority have also faced questions over alleged bullying and a “toxic” atmosphere as rumours have persisted over ructions between top politicians and council officers.
A row over proposed cuts to the city’s homelessness provision was known to have caused a backlash from some Labour councillors earlier this year, while Coun Kemp also faced criticism over a taxpayer-funded trip to Germany during which he and Coun Kilgour attended one of England’s Euro 2024 matches as part of a visit to Newcastle’s sister city of Gelsenkirchen.
He previously worked for former MP Nick Brown and was in charge of issues including bin collections and trading standards while serving in Mr Forbes’ administration, before quitting the cabinet in 2020.
Coun Kemp claimed at the time that he was being undermined by “constant sniping” and “personal animosities”, after which Mr Forbes alleged he had received “a number of complaints about Coun Kemp’s behaviour”.
While he fell short in a party leadership battle in 2021, Coun Kemp then rose to power after Mr Forbes’ dramatic deselection by Labour members in his own ward the following year.
Amid an ongoing factional split in the city’s ruling party, the council leader has held onto his post despite being challenged twice for the role – by rivals Ged Bell, who withdrew from the leadership contest before a vote was held in 2023, and Dan Greenhough, who was defeated by just a two-vote margin earlier this year.