Nick Kemp will remain Newcastle’s council leader, after a challenge to his rule was dropped.
The Byker councillor’s position had been under threat, amid a long-running internal struggle for control within the city’s Labour Party. Rival Ged Bell had mounted a leadership challenge against Coun Kemp and a vote among councillors was due to be held on Tuesday evening.
But the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) can reveal that Coun Bell has withdrawn from the race – meaning the council leader will continue unopposed for a second year in charge at the civic centre. Coun Kemp, who saw Labour’s majority on Newcastle City Council cut by three at last week’s local elections, had called the challenge against him “remarkably disappointing” just a year into his tenure.
He came to power in 2022, after former council leader Nick Forbes was dramatically deselected in his Arthur’s Hill ward. Coun Kemp has also previously challenged Mr Forbes in 2021, amid divisions within the party that continue to this day – with Coun Bell being an ally of the former leader.
Heaton councillor Clare Penny-Evans, another former council cabinet member who served under Mr Forbes, has also put herself forward to challenge deputy council leader Karen Kilgour at tonight’s annual general meeting of the Labour group. She has also withdrawn from her race.
Coun Bell told the LDRS that he had been forced to send his apologies for Tuesday’s meeting due to illness, but had “reaffirmed my commitment to working with colleagues to return an increase in the number of Labour councillors across the city next year”.
Labour lost four of its seats at last week’s local elections – being defeated by the Liberal Democrats in North Jesmond and West Fenham, while the Newcastle Independents won in the ward of Lemington as well as Denton and Westerhope. However, Labour did win one seat back from the Newcastle Independents in the Callerton and Throckley ward.
Speaking to the LDRS at last week’s election count, Coun Kemp said: “I have set out a very clear agenda. A year in it is remarkably disappointing [to face a leadership challenge] and I don’t think it can help the view of the electorate on instability in a party.
“I am committed to delivering for the electorate – I set a clear agenda last year and I am committed to that, as is Coun Kilgour. I think we are providing strong leadership and really I ask the group to come together to do what we should be doing, which is representing the city.”
Coun Penny-Evans confirmed she had pulled out of the deputy leadership contest and was "committed to us working together to offer the best for our residents, to retain /gain as many seats as we can and contribute to a Labour victory at the general election". She added that she had been keen to explore moving council away from its current cabinet leadership structure to a committee-led system and hoped that Coun Kemp would be open to such a change in the future.
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