Nicholas Ian Forbes, Baron Forbes of Newcastle (born 8 November 1973) is a British politician who served as the Leader of the Labour Group of the Local Government Association from 2016 to 2022. He was Leader of Newcastle City Council from 2011 to 2022. In 2020, Forbes was appointed to Labour Leader Keir Starmer's Shadow Cabinet, serving until 2022.
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Early life
Nicholas Ian Forbes was born on 8 November 1973 in County Durham. He is openly gay and a patron of LGBT+ Labour.
Forbes attended Wolsingham Comprehensive School in Weardale, County Durham, before studying social and political sciences at Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he obtained an upper second class honours degree. He later studied for a management diploma from Sheffield Hallam University, and a master's degree in music from the Open University.
Political career
Nick Forbes became a councillor in May 2000, representing the Westgate part of the city, and went on to become leader of the Labour group in May 2007. In 2011, he became leader of the council following the 2011 local elections which saw the Liberal Democrats suffer heavy losses across the city, as well as nationally. He has been an extensive critic of the government's fiscal policy of cuts in funding to local government, and defended a policy of particularly cutting arts funding in the city in response. Forbes is critical of Universal Credit. During his time as council leader, he negotiated one of the first round of City Deals with government to give the city new financial powers. The subsequent Accelerated Development Zone lead to securing a devolution deal, which became the North of Tyne Combined Authority.