The leader of Newcastle City Council has failed to be selected to stand again for Labour in the local elections in May.
Nick Forbes is a member of the party’s National Executive Committee and a senior figure in the Local Government Association.
Nick Forbes
PA
Seen as a moderate or centrist, the 48-year-old has led the Labour-run local authority since 2011 and been a controversial figure during austerity, making cuts which he said were forced on him by central government.
On Tuesday night he lost a vote to be selected as Labour candidate for the Arthur’s Hill ward in Newcastle in the May elections, after more than 20 years as a councillor.
He will lose his place on the council unless he is parachuted in as a candidate in another ward.
According to the Newcastle-based Chronicle, Mr Forbes lost 13-4 to local activist Abdul Samad.
In 2019 Mr Forbes failed in a bid to be the Labour candidate for North of Tyne mayor, losing to eventual winner Jamie Driscoll, who was seen as more left-wing.