How a council navigated a close call to elect its new leader

Gateshead Council has met for the first time since the 7 May elections and has now elected its first Reform UK leader.

Nick Allan was voted in through a show of hands, but the vote looked like it would be a close call because several of the party's councillors are at a wedding in Turkey.

This left Reform with just a couple of votes more than the council's opposition parties.

The annual general meeting (AGM) is an important milestone for the council - but what happens at the meeting and what would have happened if a leader was not chosen?

Allan said the vote to elect a leader had been due to take place last week, but was moved at the request of Labour.

"[The new date of the AGM] clashed with a wedding which has been planned for two years by one of our colleagues that was attended by six of our colleagues as well.

"That was why they are not here, it's not because they don't want to be here, but it was a long-standing commitment."

Reform won 38 of the 66 seats on Gateshead Council, taking control of the authority from Labour for the first time in 52 years.

As the name suggests, the annual general meeting usually takes place each year and sees Gateshead Council appoint its councillors to a variety of roles.

At the first AGM members also vote to appoint the leader of the local authority.

The leader then appoints a cabinet, made up of themselves and nine other councillors, one of whom will be appointed deputy leader.

The cabinet is responsible for making day-to-day decisions about council services, as long as they are in line with its overall budget and policies.

A mayor and deputy mayor are also elected each year, who chair council meetings and perform ceremonial roles. They are not allowed to sit on the cabinet.

The AGM also sees politicians from across the party selected to sit on a variety of committees overseeing important functions, such as social care, licensing and planning.

The leader of Gateshead Council is usually elected at the first AGM by all of the other members.

There is no rule that requires the leader to be from the leading party, but usually is when the party has a majority.

However, when no majority is present two or more parties can form a coalition or partnership to run the council.

These structures can result in a leader being selected from another party.

The leadership vote does not see councillors run against each other for the position but instead sees members vote for or against the leading party's nomination.

Opposition councillors usually vote against leaders from another party, but this does not usually make a huge difference when the controlling party has a majority.

When there is no clear majority, two or more parties may form a coalition or partnership and select a different leader.

Councillors usually vote for their leader at the AGM, but Gateshead Council's constitution does not say this has to be the case.

Instead, a leader must be voted on at a full council meeting consisting of all councillors.

This means if no leader is chosen at the AGM, they could be selected at a later date.

However, not doing so could cause delays at the party as its cabinet and committees may go unfilled.

There is no set number of votes a councillor needs to receive to be selected as leader.

Instead they have to receive the majority of votes from the councillors present at the meeting.

The Local Government Act 1972 dictates council decision making meetings (such as AGMs) must be held in person and councillors must vote in person.

During the pandemic councillors were allowed to vote remotely but this is no longer the case.

A council leader is usually voted on at the first AGM, which must take place within 21 days "of retirement" of the previous administration.

The last day the AGM would be allowed is 1 June 2026.

However, the council's constitution does not specifically give a deadline for when a council leader needs to be appointed.

This means they could be selected at a full council meeting at a later date.

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