Nick Forbes (born November 8, 1973) is the leader of Newcastle City Council. He is a member of the Labour Party and also leader of the Labour group on the City Council. Forbes became a councillor in May 2000, representing the Westgate part of the city, and went on to become Labour group leader in May 2007, and in 2011 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.