The Courier spoke to former North-East mayoral candidate Jamie Driscoll, alongside defected councillors Marion Williams and David Wood about the Newcastle City Council defections and the impacts for students. After losing control of the council for the first time since 2011, the saga represents another blow for Britain’s governing party.
Six Labour councillors have left the party, including former council leader Nick Kemp. The defections leave 10 council seats occupied by independents - the third largest bloc behind Labour (38) and the Liberal Democrats (23).
When asked about the future of progressive politics in relation to the issues in the council, Jamie Driscoll said 'we've got to get beyond thinking about parties and start thinking about politics as how it relates to the people'.
Cllr. Marion Williams ardently stresses the importance of student involvement in local politics, for the benefit of both locals and policy makers.
Former Lord Mayor, Councillor David Wood, one of the defectors, listed Labour’s plans to raise the tuition fees cap to £9,535 as his reason for defection.
He said: ‘[Labour is] making it even more difficult for young people to attend university.’
The change to fees comes during a cost-of-living crisis and is a direct contradiction of Starmer’s Labour leadership election pledge to abolish such fees.
Changes to Winter Fuel Allowance have also been at the forefront of anger towards the government, including in the North-East.
Cllr. Wood said: 'I thought [the 2024 manifesto] would deliver measures to assist those in need, however one of the first measures they took was to take away the winter fuel allowance'.
Dissatisfaction over the October budget has left Labour under attack from both sides of the political spectrum. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage branded the new government’s taxation and spending plans as 'economically illiterate', whereas concerns about a lack of ambition and continuation of cuts to public services were a common theme among those The Courier interviewed.
Marion Williams, a defecting councillor for Blakelaw, said: '[Labour was] looking like the Tory Party now. The Tory party was just voted out, so behaving like a Tory party, of course you're going to plummet in the polls.’
Driscoll suggested that Chancellor Rachel Reeves 'would fit perfectly in Thatcher’s cabinet' and that 'Labour are a centre-right party now'.
In Cllr. Wood's statement, he said: 'I was not prepared to support a party who, I believe, are introducing measures which detrimentally affect the very people who looked up to them for support'.
This arguably captures the conversations surrounding Britain's governing party since Kier Starmer's victory in Labour's 2020 Leadership Election.
Cllr. Williams said that young people should be included in political discussions, especially about issues which impact them.
She said: 'should students be engaged on [the matter of] tuition fees? Absolutely. Yeah, without a doubt. As with everything else, the student voice is a powerful voice in this country, and you should never, ever, feel like you haven’t got the right to speak.
'[Local politics affect] bus services, trains, metros, you name it. The student population is so, so large that I want to hear the voices of students.'
She continued to say that the local services accessed by students would greatly benefit if said students were politically engaged in their communities.
Williams did not wish to comment on council resignations due to an ongoing investigation regarding a bullying complaint against former council leader Nick Kemp.
Starmer and Labour have been fighting a constant retreat since landslide victory in the 2024 General Election.
Already dealing with farmers protesting changes to inheritance tax across London, rebellion on the backbenches, and a mass exodus of left-wingers, losing Newcastle-Upon-Tyne has no doubt put the party further on the backfoot.
The council had been controlled by Labour throughout its modern history, aside from a seven-year spell between 2004-2011 where the Lib Dems held the Civic Centre. While red ties still occupy the highest number of seats, the defections now mean no party has a majority.
