Two senior Labour councillors step down

TWO high-ranking Labour councillors in Newcastle have announced their resignation.

- DANIEL HOLLAND

Lesley Storey and Paul Frew will stand down as councillors and from their positions in the city council's cabinet as of January 1.Coun Storey is stepping down for health reasons as she recovers from illness, while Coun Frew's departure is understood to be a result of him taking a politically restricted civil service job.

Their seats in the South Jesmond and Walkergate wards will remain vacant until the city's upcoming local elections in May, when every seat on the council will be contested.

In the meantime, their departure further weakens the position of Labour's minority administration at the Civic Centre.

The party, led in Newcastle by Karen Kilgour, has run the council since 2011 but has seen its numbers dwindle over the past 18 months following a series of defections and a by-election defeat.