THERE will we those who jump to the conclusion today that York’s council leader James Alexander, who will resign on December 11, is leaping before being pushed.

Having lost overall control of the council, he faced a vote of no confidence.

Conservative councillors only announced yesterday that they would be calling for such a vote, however, Cllr Alexander has clearly been planning his departure much longer – he already has a job lined up with the Labour Party nationally.

So how will history view his years as York’s council leader?

He sprang to prominence in 2010 by replacing David Scott as leader of the Labour opposition, just days before a general election.

A year later, he was council leader. He made no secret of his ambitions to one day be an MP. There were some genuine achievements. The council established the Fairness Commission, introduced the Living Wage for its staff, and, by offering to pay for a £10 million bridge across railway lines, paved the way for the potential development of the York Central site.

But there were also negatives. Opposition councillors complained of a ruling Labour clique obsessed with control and of a lack of transparency. The Local Government Ombudsman and the Information Commissioner’s office seemed to share some of these concerns.

An early setback for the young leader was the row over the Union Terrace car park. Later, Labour was accused of not listening to locals when it imposed unpopular 20mph zones across the city, and was utterly humiliated by the Lendal Bridge fiasco, which has cost council taxpayers thousands of pounds. It may well be that, more than anything else, for which Cllr Alexander is remembered.