Kilgour was elected as head of the council last October, becoming the first woman to hold the position. However, her authority has since been thrown into question following the loss of Labour’s majority in December, after bullying allegations caused several members to quit the party to become independents.
The motion of no confidence was tabled by council member, Marc Donnelly, who believes that Kilgour “no longer commands the confidence of the chamber”. It was backed by just seven councillors, while 31 voted against and 19 abstained. In contrast, the first no-confidence vote was split 37-30 in support of the leader, with only one abstention.
Liberal Democrat leader, Colin Ferguson, suggested that while confidence in the Labour leader was clearly lacking, backing the motion was not in the best interests of Newcastle. He claimed that removing Kilgour from her position would leave the council leaderless for a month.
Ferguson agrees with the call for change, yet made it clear that the main issues the council faces are “problems that can only be solved at the ballot box”. The next local elections are in May.
Kilgour has responded to the motion, suggesting that hopes of voting her out before the upcoming elections are a “fantasy”.