The North East’s most popular councillor wants his “forgotten” residents to become a focus for Newcastle’s new political leadership, after an astonishing election victory.
Marc Donnelly has become a ballot box juggernaut in the outer west of the city and romped to another term in office last Thursday, with a whopping 85.7% of the vote in his Chapel ward. The often controversial independent first took a seat on Newcastle City Council in 2004, initially in the now defunct Westerhope ward, and has increased his majority every time he has stood since.
His latest ringing endorsement from the electorate saw a huge 3,434 people vote for him – more than 1,300 higher than anyone else polled across the city and the biggest tally of any candidate across the region last week. The 41-year-old puts his success down to having his loyalties “solely with the residents of Chapel ward” rather than a political party and “because I do what every councillor should do, respond to residents and represent their views and concerns at the civic centre”.
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After seeing Labour leader Nick Kemp, who is set to succeed Nick Forbes as the council’s leader later this month, promise a “reset” of the local authority that will shift focus away from the city centre, Coun Donnelly said: “I look forward to meeting with the new leader of council to set the priorities for Chapel ward and I am encouraged by what he has said over the last few weeks about moving away from a city centre first approach.
"I am, however, concerned that the council budget that was recently agreed in March does not in reality set the foundations for this. My residents, like others in the city, want to see a fair distribution of money and instead of the outer west being forgotten it needs to become a focus for the council.”
He has particularly called for the reintroduction of school crossing patrols and more regular grass cutting, while being heavily critical of investment in “vanity projects” such as the refurbishment of the civic centre and loans given to the Crowne Plaza hotel.
The long-serving councillor has been no stranger to controversy during his time in office. He caused uproar in the council chamber in 2016 when he threw his papers to the ground and refused to return to his seat during a debate on a potential housing development, before one resident in the public gallery called the Lord Mayor a “fascist” when she threatened Coun Donnelly with expulsion.
He was also labelled "beyond contempt" by Coun Kemp during a row over refuse collectors working practices and regularly clashes with both civic centre officials and other elected members, including two former independent colleagues in Chapel ward who said in 2018 that becoming councillors had been the "worst” time of their lives.
Coun Donnelly thinks it is “relatively easy” to be successful as a councillor and says he follows four key principles – “work hard, listen to and support residents, keep in touch with reality and try to reinforce common sense within the council”.
He added: “I am a councillor for everyone in the ward. I respond to the many emails that I receive and I believe I am the only councillor who produces a six-page newsletter to keep residents regularly updated. Whilst the council has cut back on services, particularly from an environmental side, I have undertaken litter picks on a regular basis, grass cutting, strimming and hedge cutting as well as floral displays throughout the ward.
“I am seen and I aim to hold the council to account as well as being happy to work with all political parties to get the best results for Chapel ward. None of the above would have been possible without the support and involvement of the residents of Chapel ward.”
Coun Donnelly’s nearest challenger in Chapel ward polled less than a tenth of the victor’s vote tally – that was Labour’s Oskar Avery, who had announced his departure from the council and resigned his Blakelaw seat just weeks earlier.
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