Nick Forbes

Nick Forbes CBE (born 8 November 1973) is a British Labour politician who has served as the leader of Newcastle City Council since 2011. He has served as leader of the Labour group on the City Council since 2007.

Councillor

Nick Forbes

CBE
Leader of Newcastle City Council
Assumed office
5 May 2011
Preceded byDavid Faulkner
Leader of the Labour Party on Newcastle City Council
Assumed office
May 2007
Preceded byJohn O'Shea
Leader of LGA Labour Group
Assumed office
6 January 2016
Preceded byJim McMahon
Newcastle City Councillor
for Arthur's Hill (2018-)
Westgate (2004-2018)
Moorside (2000–2004)
Assumed office
4 May 2000
Personal details
Born
Nicholas Iain Forbes

(1973-11-08) 8 November 1973
County Durham, United Kingdom[1][2][3]
Political partyLabour

He is the leader of Labour Group on the Local Government Association, the  national membership body for local authorities,[4] and also serves as the LGA's Senior Vice Chair.[5]

Early life

Nick Forbes was born on 8 November 1973.[3] He attended Wolsingham Comprehensive School in Weardale, County Durham, before studying social and political sciences at Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he obtained a 2.i degree.[6] He later studied for a management diploma from Sheffield Hallam University, and a master's degree in Music from the Open University.[3]

Political career

Nick Forbes became a councillor in May 2000, representing the Westgate part of the city, and went on to become leader of the Labour group in May 2007.[7] In 2011, he became leader of the council following the 2011 local elections which saw the Liberal Democrats suffer heavy losses across the city, as well as nationally. He has been an extensive critic of the government's fiscal policy of cuts in funding to local government, and defended a policy of particularly cutting arts funding in the city in response.[8][9][1] Forbes is critical of Universal Credit.[10]

In February 2016, Forbes succeeded Jim McMahon as leader of Labour's Local Government Association.[11] According to the LGA's website, Forbes "has played a leading role in raising the profile of local government in a time of austerity made economic growth a key feature of his council, securing new financial powers by negotiating one of the first round of City Deals with government. He has worked with leaders from across England to secure devolution packages for local government."[5]

In 2019, Forbes unsuccessfully sought selection to be Labour's candidate in the 2019 North of Tyne mayoral election, losing to Jamie Driscoll.[12][13]

Honours

Forbes was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to local government.[14]

References
  1. Butler, Patrick (8 January 2013). "Newcastle council leader: arts cuts are inevitable result of coalition policy". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  2. "Search Results: Nick Forbes". GenesReunited.
  4. Pope, Conor (6 February 2016). "Nick Forbes elected new leader of Labour's local government group". Labour List. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  5. "Chairman and Vice-Chairs". Local Government Association.
  6. Andrew Hankinson, 'Nick Forbes: Newcastle’s king of cuts', New Statesman, 15 January 2013. Accessed 28 January 2019.
  7. "Leader of the council". Newcastle City Council. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  8. Harris, John (24 November 2014). "Is saving Newcastle a mission impossible?". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  9. Harris, John; Mason, Rowena. "Funding crisis leaves Newcastle facing 'impossible cuts' and social unrest". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  10. Forbes, Nick (15 October 2017). "Universal credit is returning my city to the days of Cathy Come Home". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  11. Pope, Conor (6 February 2016). "Nick Forbes elected new leader of Labour's local government group". Labour List. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  12. Seddon, Sean (15 November 2018). "Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes explains why he's running to be North of Tyne mayor". Chronicle. Newcastle upon Tyne. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  13. Seddon, Sean (20 February 2019). "Who is Jamie Driscoll? Labour's left-wing North of Tyne mayoral candidate". nechronicle. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  14. Sharma, Sonia (28 December 2018). "Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes gets CBE in New Year Honours". nechronicle. Retrieved 29 December 2018.


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