Labour’s new leader in Newcastle has pledged “fresh ideas” for the city after winning the race to take over from Nick Forbes.
Nick Kemp claimed victory in a closely-contested leadership race on Monday night, beating colleagues Clare Penny-Evans and Irim Ali to the top job.
The Byker councillor, who had previously failed in a bid to oust his rival Coun Forbes last year, said it was a “privilege to be given responsibility to lead this great city” and that it was “essential” that Labour earns the trust of the Geordie public in a new era for the party.
Go here for the latest regional affairs and North East politics news
After the vote among Newcastle City Council’s 52 Labour councillors on Monday, Coun Kemp is now the political leader of the group – but he will not become leader of the council until May, with Coun Forbes seeing out the remainder of his term in office.
The 53-year-old said in a statement: “We will represent every community and will work hard to ensure that every resident feels part of this process of ambitious change, from the villages to the suburbs to the city centre. Your success will be the only measure of our success.
“We will be working as a team with fresh ideas, based on fundamental values of inclusivity and opportunity for all. We will be agents for change, setting clear objectives for the council’s amazing teams to deliver.
“We will be clear in purpose, and every decision will be scrutinised to ensure it falls in line with all of our collective ambitions and aspirations of the city.
“We understand that, as well as being an incredible honour, it is also a huge task to lead one of England’s great cities, and we recognise this needs our undivided attention.
“We know that none of this will be easy. We face continued budgetary pressures, with the government seemingly hellbent on removing the ability of local government to effectively fulfil even its most basic functions, so no stone shall be left unturned in our mission to make the best use of the resources we have available to us and to ensure those resources are deployed in the most effective way for all.”
Rumours about Coun Kemp’s ambition to claim the leadership have been rife since he quit the council’s cabinet in summer 2020, when the divisions within the city’s Labour establishment became clear.
Coun Forbes, who has been Labour’s leader in Newcastle since 2007 and council leader since 2011, announced in February that he would be leaving city politics after the May local elections, having been deselected in his Arthur’s Hill ward.
Replacing him with one of his key internal rivals could mean major upheaval in the corridors of power at the civic centre.
Cabinet member John Paul-Stephenson, a Forbes ally, announced on Monday night that he would not seek a cabinet position in the next municipal year and it remains to be seen whether other stalwarts of the current administration will follow suit.
Another Labour councillor tendered his resignation from the council on Tuesday, too.
Oskar Avery, whose term of office in Blakelaw was due to end in May regardless, asked followers on Facebook to “please respect my desire not to elaborate” on the reasons behind his decision to leave the authority as of April 1.
Coun Kemp, who has sat on the city council for 20 years, won just over half of the vote in Monday’s contest – beating Coun Penny-Evans by 27 to 24 in the second round of voting, after Coun Ali had been knocked out of the contest.
Following his triumph on Monday, he promised that a council under his leadership would tackle “appalling” levels of child poverty in Newcastle, address children’s mental health issues, and “fight to ensure vital public services are delivered across this city, to grow the city with jobs that are secure, with fit and proper wages and protections for all workers”.
He also announced that he would contribute 10% of his monthly salary as leader to a Newcastle Solidarity Fund, which he set up with fellow East End councillor Stevie Wood to provide funding to small community groups.
Had either Coun Ali or Coun Penny-Evans been successful in their bids, they would have become the first female leader of the council.
