Deal with Greens hands Labour reins in Leeds

Husband and wife Green councillors David and Ann Blackburn have agreed a deal with Labour to form a minority administration.

A Tory-Lib Dem coalition has run the authority for the past six years.

Labour group leader Keith Wakefield said: "At the recent local elections, the Labour Group gained four seats, making it overwhelmingly the largest political group. I believe it is our duty to take responsibility for the council on that basis.

"This is not a formal coalition, but we and the Green Group share several key aspirations for this city, and in particular we look forward to working with them very closely on environmental issues.

"We are under no illusions that the year ahead will be a tough one, with difficult and sometimes painful decisions to be made in the face of massive cuts proposed by the new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition."