A “reset” of frontline council services in Newcastle will put more focus on areas outside the city centre, Labour’s new leader in the city says.
Nick Kemp has pledged a “wholesale review of everything we do” at the civic centre if, as expected, he is in charge there come the end of May. The 53-year-old Byker councillor has taken over from the departing Nick Forbes as Labour’s figurehead in Newcastle, in what has been a turbulent few months for the city council’s divided ruling party.
Facing attacks on multiple fronts at next week’s local elections, Coun Kemp has promised voters that an administration led by him would have an “absolute focus on getting the basics right” in all parts of the city – with a “review and refresh” of services including bin collections and street cleaning. He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that Labour was “very conscious” of complaints that the city council puts too much emphasis on the city centre at the expense of other areas, particularly outer west wards where independent councillors have stolen a march in recent years.
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Coun Kemp said: “There is a new chief executive [Pam Smith] in the city, there is hopefully new political leadership after the annual general meeting, and it is fundamentally an opportunity to reset.
"“What the change is about is a wholesale review of everything we do in the city. There are lots of things that were done and were the right decisions when they were put in place, but are those things right and proper for the city looking forward?”
He added: “Obviously it is very important that we have a thriving, burgeoning city centre, but that should not be to the cost of people living in their local communities.
“There are a great many people who do not visit the city centre very often. We need to make sure that our service delivery is relevant to you where you live. If you live in Westerhope or Lemington then your needs and requirements are very much about your local community. “
He is also planning reviews of Your Homes Newcastle and the council’s relationship with Urban Green, the charity which now runs the city’s parks, and has announced his intention to overturn plans to pave over Old Eldon Square. 2022 has already seen major upheaval in the city’s corridors of power, with Coun Forbes ousted after 11 years as council leader following defeat in the selection race for his Arthur’s Hill ward.
Coun Kemp, a long time rival, then emerged victorious with a very slim majority over Clare Penny-Evans in the party’s leadership contest in March, while the latest drama has seen former deputy council leader Joyce McCarty suspended after alleging a “Muslim plot” against Coun Forbes. There has even been talk of another leadership challenge that could seek to depose Coun Kemp before he even has chance to formally take over as council leader at the end of May, but he insists that councillors are “solidly behind” his manifesto.
He added: “Our focus is about delivering a good quality Labour council for the voters of the city. The internal issues of the Labour group are internal and I would guess that if you looked underneath the surface of the Lib Dems or any of the opposition I am sure there are tensions and differences, as with any political party.
“We have set out a clear agenda with our manifesto and what you see if you look on social media is a very active, campaigning Labour group who are solidly behind the manifesto.”
In Newcastle, Labour is battling to hold onto seats under threat in multiple different areas – with challenges from independents in the outer west, the Lib Dems in the usual swing wards of Ouseburn and North Jesmond, and a multi-party race also featuring a strong Green push in West Fenham. Much focus in the North East on election night, however, will be on Sunderland – where Keir Starmer has twice visited recently and where Labour could cede control of the council for the first time.
Coun Kemp said Mr Starmer had faced “very difficult circumstances” during the pandemic to put across Labour’s policies, but that the party must “get cleverer and clearer about explaining our message and what the difference a Labour government would mean to people”.
