Two Sheffield City Council cabinet members, including the deputy leader, and four cabinet assistants have resigned in support of radically overhauling the way the council does business.

The resignations came after the campaign group It's Our City! collected more than 25,000 signatures in support of abolishing the cabinet model and replacing it with the committee system.

It's Our City! has argued that a committee system is ‘more democratic' because councillors would have a ‘meaningful say in making decisions'.

In her resignation statement, deputy leader Cllr Olivia Blake said: ‘My preference was to resolve the debate on the council's governance structure without the need for a referendum but now that it is almost certain to be held it is time to take a public position on where we go next.

‘I will take the side of the people.

'I will back the committee system.

'It is a starting point for a wider debate on how to rejuvenate our democracy and it is important that Labour voices contribute to this debate.'