Leader quits as city's balance of power shifts

Philip Black has resigned as the leader of the coalition, on which Labour had been the biggest group until recently

The coalition running a city council has collapsed and its leader resigned.

Labour group leader Philip Black, whose party led Lancaster City Council along with the Green Party and Liberal Democrats, stepped down at a council meeting on Wednesday.

According to Labour, his party had recently been given an "ultimatum" by the Greens, who, it claimed, had told him he should resign or face a vote of no confidence.

Green leader Caroline Jackson told the BBC her group was "disappointed" by Mr Black’s resignation and wanted a smooth transition.

'Challenging'

Labour had been the biggest party in the coalition, with 24 seats, while the Greens held 21, the Lib Dems seven, the Conservatives five and other groups four.

A by-election in July, following a Labour resignation, saw the Greens take the University ward seat.

Then, councillor Philip Bradley left Labour in August to sit as an independent.

A by-election in October, prompted by another Labour resignation, saw the Greens take the Scotforth seat.

That made the Greens the largest single party, with 23 of 61 seats.

Labour told the BBC that while that figure meant there was still no overall control on the council, the Greens had demanded Black's resignation on his return from a period of ill-health.

Labour said he had told the council meeting that he had "tried with all sincerity to shepherd our cross-party alliance through the most challenging local government landscape our district has ever had to face".

The Green Party has said its Lancaster group is now the joint-second largest it has on any council.