Newcastle City Council independent inquiry findings won’t be released before crunch local elections

Councillors agreed to commission a review into the governance of the local authority in December 2024, in the wake of multiple concerns about the behind-the-scenes culture at the Civic Centre and a controversy surrounding a bullying complaint made against former leader Nick Kemp by a senior director.

The inquiry began late last year, following the end of the separate investigation which ultimately cleared Coun Kemp of breaching the Labour-run council’s code of conduct in relation to the allegations made by Michelle Percy.

It has now emerged that the wider inquiry’s conclusions will not be made public before May’s local elections, sparking fresh questions about transparency at a critical period in city politics.

Every council seat in Newcastle will be up for grabs at these elections, rather than the usual one-third, meaning there could be a massive change in the balance of political power on Tyneside.

Labour has been in power in Newcastle since 2011, but currently operates a minority administration after losing its majority following a series of defections.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that a draft version of the Local Government Association peer review report was delivered more than a month ago.

A council spokesperson confirmed that a final report “will be brought to a future meeting of full council”, as was agreed in the original motion voted on in 2024, but there are now none scheduled before May.

Colin Ferguson, leader of the council’s Lib Dem opposition group, called it “intolerable that the city has had to wait over a year for the presentation of this report” and claimed there was “no good reason” it could not have been issued at the full council meeting earlier this month.

He said: “It is a vital part of the process of moving past the instability that has rocked the Civic Centre for the best part of the last two years. There is no good reason that the final report couldn’t have been presented at March’s meeting, and it is regrettable if the administration’s stance is now that it must be delayed until after May.”

Coun Ferguson added: “The decision to delay is not unanimous, and I would urge parties to come together to find a way to address this matter urgently.”

Nick Hartley, who leads the council’s Green group, also called for the report to be published this month.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Labour often talks about taking ‘difficult decisions’. That should include being willing to face uncomfortable findings and publish them openly, not hiding behind process to delay scrutiny. Transparency and accountability are essential if we want to rebuild trust in the way the council is run.”

But Marion Williams, who leads the East End and Associates Independents, said the pre-election furore was a case of “I told you so”.

Her group had previously raised concerns over the timing of the review and had wanted it delayed until after the elections to avoid “a process that appears rushed, retrospective, or disconnected from the challenges facing the city”.

A Newcastle Labour spokesperson said the December 2024 motion “made clear that a final report would be brought to full council”.

They added: “Any report will be published in line with the process agreed by Council. This Labour administration has brought stability and strong leadership back to the Civic Centre and we remain focused on delivering for Newcastle.”

The row that surrounded Coun Kemp and his resignation as leader in September 2024, before he later quit the Labour Party, is among a series of incidents that sparked concern about the council over recent years.

There have been multiple accusations of bullying within Newcastle Labour, while council officers have been accused of “undermining” the authority in a long-running dispute with Monument ward councillor Jane Byrne.

Former independent members of the audit and standards committee also wrote to Coun Kemp while he was still leader to warn of “serious reservations”, including claims that some top executives were “unwilling or reluctant to answer challenging questions openly”.

Council chief executive Pam Smith refused to deny the presence of a “toxic” atmosphere at the council when she appeared in front of the authority’s audit committee in autumn 2023. She said last December that there was now a “healthy” and “very professional” culture.

A Newcastle City Council spokesperson said: “The motion to undertake the independent inquiry was agreed by elected members across the council chamber and officers worked together with group leaders to agree terms of reference. As per the terms of the original motion, a final report will be brought to a future meeting of full council. However, there is not another meeting of full council before the May elections.”