The finance cabinet member at Stoke-on-Trent City Council has been sacked in a mid-term reshuffle.

Labour councillor Alastair Watson had been serving as cabinet member for financial sustainability and corporate resources at the authority since Labour won the 2023 council elections.

But council leader Jane Ashworth has now fired Cllr Watson from the cabinet in a reshuffle announced during Thursday's annual council meeting. Cllr Ashworth said the reshuffle was about getting 'the right people in the right roles'.

But she rejected claims from local Conservatives that Cllr Watson had challenged her for the leadership.

As finance cabinet member, Cllr Watson was responsible for overseeing the council's budget-setting, at a time when the council was seeing massive overspending on children's services due to high numbers of children in care. Under his watch, the authority secured £42.2 million of bailout loans from the government in 2024, and a further £16.8 million of 'exceptional financial support' in 2025.

Cllr Watson held a similar cabinet role towards the end of the previous Labour administration, from 2014 to 2015. He remains the Labour councillor for Hanley Park, Joiner's Square and Shelton.

Cllr Ashworth said: "I'd like to thank Alastair for the work he's done over the last couple of years. He helped steady the ship following the mess we inherited from the Conservatives.

"There could be a role for Alastair in the future. It's about having the right people in the right roles. Different people have different skills and aptitudes.

"There was no leadership challenge at our meeting. Whatever is being said, it did not come from our group."

Apart from Cllr Watson's absence, cabinet members remain the same as before, while Lauren Davison and Waseeem Akbar have been appointed as cabinet support members. But individual portfolios have yet to be assigned to cabinet members, meaning it is not clear who is responsible for overseeing which council services.

According to a report circulated at the council meeting, portfolio responsibilities are 'under review' by Cllr Ashworth and details will be confirmed 'in due course'. Cllr Ashworth said this work would be '95 per cent' complete by next Tuesday's cabinet meeting.

But Conservative opposition leader Dan Jellyman said this should have been done before the council meeting.

He said: "They actually changed the date of the annual council meeting to give themselves an extra week to sort themselves out, but they still haven't managed to do it in time.

"This is the fourth cabinet reshuffle in two years – it's just rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic, as Stoke-on-Trent sinks in the background.

"I didn't always agree with Cllr Watson, but he was well respected across the chamber, and the only one with experience from the previous Labour administration. And now Cllr Ashworth has thrown that experience away."

Cllr Watson was approached for comment, but simply said that 'the leader arranges her cabinet'.

The new cabinet is as follows:

Council leader Jane Ashworth

Deputy council leader Amjid Wazir

Sarah-Jane Colclough

Finlay Gordon-McCusker

Sarah Hill

Majid Khan

Chris Robinson

Lynn Watkins (part-time)

Duncan Walker

Cabinet support members:

Lauren Davison

Waseem Akbar