New leader installed at Nottingham City Council

Nottingham City Council will have a new leader after Labour’s ruling national executive committee (NEC) stepped in.

Neghat Khan, who represents the Dales ward on the council, has been chosen by the NEC to lead the troubled council, which is currently under the control of Government Commissioners after being declared effectively bankrupt. She will take up the post on May 20.]

Councillor Khan said: “I am delighted to be taking up the roles of leader of Nottingham Labour and Nottingham City Council.

“We know there are challenges ahead and I look forward to working with colleagues to make positive changes for our city.

“We have had 14 years of Conservative cuts to our funding. We will work hard to mitigate the impact of those cuts by championing our communities and delivering for Nottingham people.”

Neghat Khan was born and raised in Nottingham and has reportedly been chosen, along with a deputy leader and senior team, solely by the Labour NEC. In 2019, she was appointed as chair of the failed Robin Hood Energy company.

Normally, the Labour group on the council would have free range to choose their own top table, but to has been eschewed following a series of controversies at the council.

The council had a £23m overspend in 2023/24 and had requested Exceptional Financial Support from government in the form of capitalisation which would have allowed the council to use capital receipts from asset sales to meet ongoing revenue costs as a short term measure.

In March, councillors voted through huge budget cuts at a tense meeting that lasted over seven hours.

Cuts will be made to jobs, social care, community and cultural organisations and youth services. More libraries look set to close in the city and council tax will rise by almost 5%.

The current leader, David Mellen, decided in March that he would step down from the role.’

Councillor Ethan Radford has been chosen as deputy leader.