Newcastle City Council poised to name new leader
Newcastle City Council appears poised to name the first female leader in its history.
Karen Kilgour is now expected to take over as the Labour leader of the local authority, after the resignation of Nick Kemp last week.
Coun Kemp quit three days after the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) revealed that he was the subject of a bullying complaint from one of the council’s most senior officers.
Numerous sources have now told the LDRS that Coun Kilgour is set to be named as his replacement, as she is standing unopposed in a party leadership contest that is due to formally conclude next week.
However, her ascension to the top job has not been as straightforward as some had expected earlier this week – after the national Labour Party intervened.
Coun Kilgour is thought to have been the only person to come forward ahead of the initial deadline for nominations for the leadership position closing on Wednesday this week.
But that was thrown into doubt when Labour Party officials later stepped in to reopen nominations, with sources reporting that other potential candidates within the city’s ruling political group were then lobbied to throw their hat into the ring as well.
However, Coun Kilgour was the only person to be interviewed by the party for the leadership position on Friday so that she could be formally shortlisted ahead of a Newcastle Labour group vote on Monday evening.
The intervention of Labour’s National Executive Committee is reminiscent of the controversy in Sunderland earlier this year, when the party removed Graeme Miller as the city’s leader and installed Michael Mordey in his place.
Coun Kilgour has been Labour’s deputy leader in Newcastle since May 2021, initially in the final year of Nick Forbes’ administration before Coun Kemp rose to power, and has sat on the council for 10 years.
The West Fenham ward councillor currently holds responsibility for public health and anti-poverty plans in her cabinet portfolio.
Barring any late hiccups, she is now expected to be ratified as leader at a meeting of the Newcastle Labour group next Monday and then a full council meeting on Wednesday, October 2 – at which point she would become the first woman named as the council’s political leader.
Coun Kilgour has been the acting council leader since it was announced earlier this month that Coun Kemp was taking a leave of absence due to ill health and, subsequently, following his resignation.
Her task will be to unite a Labour group that has been plagued by factional divides over recent years, which were laid bare again last week, and galvanise the party ahead of critical all-out local elections in 2026 in which it will be trying to retain control of the council.
Coun Kemp said in a statement last Friday that he “strenuously” denies the bullying allegation against him and accused some fellow Labour councillors of acting “against the interests of their colleagues, their party, and the residents of this great city”.
The city council is yet to confirm whether there will be a formal investigation launched into the complaint made by Michelle Percy, the authority’s director of investment and growth.
That accusation has marked the latest episode in a turbulent couple of years at the civic centre.
Mr Forbes’ tenure as council leader came to a dramatic end in 2022, when he was deselected by Labour Party members in his ward.
The ensuing scramble for power saw Coun Kemp, a long-standing rival, ultimately prevail.
But he was challenged for the leadership in each of the past two years, most recently when he narrowly defeated Dan Greenhough this May in a 23-21 vote.
12 months ago, council chief executive Pam Smith refused to deny the presence of a “toxic” atmosphere and bullying in the administration when she was questioned in front of the authority’s audit committee.
Shortly after, Labour councillor Jane Byrne quit the council cabinet and made an explosive social media statement in which she accused officers of “undermining” the council, though sources later told the LDRS that she was in fact asked to leave her position due to a “number of internal issues”.
Ex-Labour councillors John-Paul Stephenson, Shumel Rahman, and Habib Rahman also all cited alleged bullying within the party over the last 18 months.
Regarding the leadership contest, a Labour Spokesperson said: “We won’t be providing a running commentary on internal selection procedures. The new leader of Newcastle Labour Group will be decided by the group on Monday.”