Sheffield City Council's Labour leader Terry Fox resigns ahead of election result

Council leader Terry Fox had faced calls to resign following the damning trees report

The Labour leader of Sheffield City Council, Terry Fox, has announced he is to resign with "immediate effect".

Mr Fox has led the council since 2021 but has been under pressure to stand down in the wake of a critical report into the city's tree-felling saga.

An internal report seen by the BBC said a campaign improvement board would be "overseeing [Labour] group matters for the foreseeable future" in Sheffield.

The news came ahead of the authority's election results being announced.

• See the latest local election results across England

In an email addressed to his Labour Group "comrades", Mr Fox said: "The last two years have seen Sheffield Labour Group navigate uncharted waters, first with the co-operative agreement and then the committee system, as the largest group in a council with no overall control.

"But by working together, respecting each other and supporting everyone, we have delivered on our pledges, delivered balanced budgets and delivered for Sheffield."

He added that it had been an "honour and privilege" to serve as leader and said he would continue as councillor for the Manor Castle ward.

Following Thursday's ballot Labour held 39 of the 84 seats in Sheffield, the Lib Dems 29 and the Greens 14 - with no gains for any of the three, who have worked in coalition in recent months.

Louise Haigh, Labour MP for Sheffield Heeley, said it was "time that we recognised that lots of people across Sheffield did not have faith in Sheffield Labour".

• Who won in my area?

• Chris Mason: Tories face up as results come in

• Scrap voter ID, say critics

• Watch: Reaction at the counts

This is a perfect example of local versus national issues when people go out to elect their councils.

Labour might well be taking control of authorities across the country - but in Sheffield they are losing their leader.

It sounds like Terry Fox is being asked, nicely at first, to resign. Then Labour nationally says it will pick the Labour Group Leader in Sheffield.

This all comes before a vote is even counted in Sheffield - the timing is interesting. Labour seems keen to get ahead of this before the story becomes one about them failing to take control of the city. They need four seats to fully control Sheffield - they're not confident they can do it.

In March, the publication of a report into the council's handling of the tree-felling work prompted calls for Mr Fox to resign.

Thousands of trees were felled as part of a £2.2bn street improvement project, sparking public anger and protests.

The independent inquiry found the council's actions "amounted to a serious and sustained failure of strategic leadership" and said it had been "dishonest".

The leaked report cited the saga as one of the reasons the party had been failing locally after losing its majority on the council in 2021.

'Restore faith'

Ms Haigh, said the tree report had "obviously had a significant impact" on Labour support in in the city. But she said "there were other issues as well," including the the ill-fated Fargate shipping container complex.

"I think it was past time that we recognised that lots of people across Sheffield did not have faith in Sheffield Labour and how the council was being run, and we needed to respond to that," the MP said

A Labour spokesperson said the party had taken action "to ensure we can restore their faith and trust in Labour locally".

"We need to gain control of the council with new leadership and fresh ideas to deliver a positive Labour vision for Sheffield and deliver for working people in the way only Labour can," they added.

A new leader is expected to be chosen in the coming weeks.

Sheffield is one of a number of areas in the country under the control of a campaign improvement board (CIB) set up by the national Labour Party, the leaked report revealed.

The report said: "The CIB will continue to advise the Sheffield Labour Group on governance, candidate selection, campaign planning/execution and oversee adherence to the councillor/candidate contracts."

It is understood other appointments will also be made and overseen by Labour's National Executive Committee.

Mr Fox has been a councillor for 22 years over three separate terms.