Newcastle City Council appoints first female leader in history as Karen Kilgour confirmed in top job

After the resignation of Nick Kemp last month following revelations of a bullying allegation, his former deputy has been named as his successor as Newcastle City Council leader

Newcastle has officially appointed the first female council leader in the city’s history.

Karen Kilgour was formally ratified as Newcastle City Council’s new Labour leader on Wednesday night, having been chosen on Monday evening by her party as Nick Kemp’s successor. He resigned last month after it emerged that he was the subject of a bullying complaint from a senior council officer, director of investment and growth Michelle Percy, and has said that he strenuously denies the accusation.

Coun Kilgour has served as Coun Kemp’s deputy since 2022 and was previously second-in-command in the final year of Nick Forbes’ administration. Following a vote to confirm her ascension to the leadership at Wednesday’s full council meeting, the West Fenham ward councillor thanked Coun Kemp and said she took “great pride” in being the first woman ever to hold the job.

Her immediate task will be to seek to provide stability at the civic centre following a turbulent period and unite factions within a ruling Labour group in which divisions have been obvious for several years.

She said: “It is the honour of my life to be able to lead the city I love and stand up for the people who call Newcastle home. I also want to take this opportunity to thank Coun Kemp for all his hard work during his time as leader, and for the personal support he has shown to me. I know how much he cares about this city.

“It gives me great pride to be the first woman to hold this important position. Newcastle is a city that has continually shown that women can rise to the very top, holding a number of important roles across the public, private and community sectors.

“While we’re fortunate to live in an incredibly forward-thinking and inclusive city, I am determined to stand for all those who have previously been, and continue to be, marginalised for characteristics beyond their control. It is an exciting time for Newcastle and the wider region, with the formation of the new North East Combined Authority presenting opportunities for the North East to thrive.”

Earlier in the meeting, she had been asked by Lib Dem opposition leader Colin Ferguson how the council would “restore public confidence” after the recent controversy. Coun Kilgour replied that voters had “shown their confidence and their trust” in Labour at the ballot box this year and that her administration would “very much focus on delivery” on key issues including tackling poverty and helping people struggling with the cost of living.

After Coun Ferguson questioned if she “really believes that a political point scoring answer in the context of genuinely held concerns” was “the answer the public deserves”, she accused the Lib Dems of “not always thinking about the greater good and the people of Newcastle”. Asked by opposition councillor Wendy Taylor if members of the Labour cabinet would speak candidly if questioned over “their awareness of inappropriate behaviour”, the new council leader replied that “honesty can always be expected” but that the ongoing complaint process “should be allowed to be completed without political interference or commentary”.

The city council is yet to confirm whether a formal investigation will be launched into the complaint made against Coun Kemp, who continues to sit as a councillor for Byker, by Ms Percy.

Coun Kilgour has sat on the council since 2014 and has held responsibility for issues including public health and adult social care during her time in the authority’s cabinet.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed last Friday that she was poised to take over as council leader, having emerged as the sole candidate to replace Coun Kemp in a party leadership election. While the national Labour Party had intervened in the contest last week and other potential candidates are understood to have been asked to come forward, Coun Kilgour remained the only name on the shortlist that was presented to the city’s Labour councillors at a meeting to choose their new group leader on Monday night.

Coun Kemp led the authority since May 2022, after a dramatic end to Mr Forbes’ long reign in the leadership role when he was deselected by Labour Party members in his ward. 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.

Meanwhile, there have been multiple questions raised about the culture behind the scenes at the civic centre and within Newcastle Labour. 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 last year, while multiple ex-Labour councillors have cited alleged bullying within the party over the last 18 months.

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