A Newcastle Labour councillor has defected to join the Green Party.
Alistair Chisholm, a Labour councillor in the Ouseburn ward since 2018, has today announced he is quitting the city’s ruling party.
In a letter to council leader Karen Kilgour, Coun Chisholm said he was “increasingly uncomfortable with the direction of the party in government” – criticising Labour’s stance on the war in Gaza, welfare cuts, and Shabana Mahmood’s asylum reforms.
His defection gives the Greens a fourth seat on the city council, which is in no overall political control.
Labour has been in power at Newcastle City Council since 2011 but now runs a minority administration, now holding 36 out of 78 seats.
This latest blow comes after the split with former council leader Nick Kemp and the five other councillors who left Labour to form their East End and Associates Independents group last year, while former lord mayor Habib Rahman and city centre councillor Jane Byrne have also become independents.
Coun Chisholm, who has spoken previously of his battle with a life-threatening case of infective endocarditis that has left him severely visually impaired, said on Thursday: “Residents tell me they feel let down by Labour — and I can’t tell them they’re wrong. The attack on disability benefits, the cut to the winter fuel allowance and the government’s failure to show moral leadership on Gaza have caused real distress. I’ve tried for a long time to make things work inside Labour, but the party has become increasingly centralised and less willing to speak plainly about the problems people are facing.
“Meanwhile, the housing crisis in our city and across the country is getting worse. Too many residents are living in damp or overcrowded homes, young people can’t find secure places to live, and our environment is declining. I don’t want to keep pretending everything is fine when it isn’t.”
Since returning to council duties in 2023 following a terrifying medical ordeal that required a five-month hospital stay, Coun Chisholm carries out his work with the help of guide dog Umber.
He said he believed the Greens “focus on fixing what’s actually broken” rather than “blaming migrants, disabled people and other scapegoats”.
The Greens won their first two seats on Newcastle City Council last year and recently secured a third with Sarah Peters’ by-election win in South Jesmond.
Coun Chisholm says he hopes to stand for the Greens at next May’s city council elections, when all 78 seats will be contested rather than the usual one-third.
A Labour Group spokesperson said: “We regret that Councillor Chisholm has decided to step away from our ambitious agenda for our great city. Our focus remains on delivering for residents and continuing the work that matters to communities across the city.”
