The leader of City of York Council Cllr James Alexander has blamed the growth of ‘personalised politics' for his decision to resign after more than three years in post.

Cllr Alexander is set to step down on 11 December to pursue a new career as policy officer of the national Labour Party in London, but will continue as a councillor until May.

In a statement last night, Cllr Alexander said: ‘Ive done this for almost four years and a new opportunity has come up.