Newcastle’s embattled council leader says he is “immensely sad” after being deselected by his party.
Nick Forbes suffered a landslide defeat at a Labour branch meeting in his Arthur’s Hill ward on Tuesday night, a remarkable result that has sent shockwaves through the city’s political establishment.
It means that the 48-year-old cannot stand as a Labour candidate in May’s local elections unless he finds an alternative seat – and even if he were to successfully run in another ward, there would be serious questions about his ability to continue as the party’s leader in the city.
