IT TOOK just 40 minutes in charge of his first cabinet as new city council leader for Steve Brady to taste defeat.
As internal party bust-ups go, the reversal at the hands of his cabinet colleagues is unlikely to set alarm bells ringing at Labour headquarters.
But the defeat by six votes to four for his proposal to accept a report recommending final approval to designate Rockford Fields in east Hull as a local nature reserve did prompt a few red faces around the table in committee room 50 at the Guildhall.
"Well, this is a good sign for the future," joked the Labour leader after the votes were totted up.
The first Labour cabinet meeting in five years saw the council's new administration spluttering into life rather than immediately hitting top gear. It was a bit like watching someone trying to start a car after a lengthy spell hibernating in the garage.
All three items on the part of the agenda open to the public were eventually referred back for further work after lengthy debates.
It turned out the report on Rockford Fields was actually the incorrect version containing a number of errors.
Councillor Brady suggested it was still acceptable, provided two recommendations containing mistakes were omitted.
However, his deputy, Councillor Daren Hale, was unhappy the report had no input from the relevant portfolio holder, either the previous one, Lib Dem Dave Woods, or the current one, Labour's Martin Mancey.
Mr Mancey confirmed his involvement had been limited.
He said: "The only thing I was told about it was that it was going to be withdrawn."
To be fair to the new cabinet, the meeting's agenda had been drawn up in advance of the recent elections.
As Labour hadn't expected to win, few in the room probably expected to be present.
The agenda items were hardly earth-shattering and not in the least political.
Even so, a report on a proposed public consultation over long-term regeneration plans for Kingswood prompted concerns from some that decisions were being forced on cabinet members still getting used to their new portfolio briefs.
"Would delaying things another month make any difference to the timetable or are we having a gun held to our heads?" asked Councillor Brady.
"We are not holding a gun to your head, Councillor Brady," said Pauline Davis, the council's corporate director for regeneration.
Afterwards, cabinet member Phil Webster emerged from the room with a smile on his face. "At least you can't say everything was decided in advance," he said.
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