Newcastle Labour group have not been having a good time of it recently. Having seen the resignation of their leader a few weeks ago, the authority has now experienced the resignation of 6 Labour councillors who will now sit as independents. To add to the confusion, there is already an independent group on the council called the Newcastle Independents. If you think that is confusing, there are 5 other independents. Whatever the varieties of independent, the bloody nose for Labour comes with the loss of their majority on the council. Labour now have 39 councillors with 39 on the opposition benches (including 22 Lib Dems). While a change in political control is not expected (in the short run), this is all dreadfully embarrassing for Labour in the regional capital. Alas, across the River Tyne here in Gateshead, we have, so far, only experienced one defection from Labour to the independents since the general election. Only 5 more to go for Gateshead to catch up.
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