Former Plymouth Tories criticised by the current leader
It's after they voted with Labour to throw them off City Council committees
Plymouth Tory leader Nick Kelly has criticised former colleagues for voting with Labour to throw them off city council committees.
The eight councillors resigned from the city council’s Conservative group after falling out with the leadership.
They claimed that they had been effectively stopped from speaking out on behalf of residents in their wards.
But Cllr Kelly accused the former Conservatives of hypocrisy by voting with the ruling Labour group to remove them from council committees at a special meeting on Monday.
The resignations in October changed the political balance on the Labour-run council by reducing the size of the Conservative opposition group.
That triggered a review of how seats on committees are allocated.
The committees monitor the council’s work and make recommendations for action.
A report to a special meeting of the council said the law stated councillors not in political groups could not be given a place on committees.
The report advised the council to give the vacant seats to Labour, which is the largest group and controls the authority.
Cllr Kelly argued that the Independents should have a share of the seats to reflect the new make-up of the council.
But the eight former Conservative group members voted with Labour in line with the recommendation to remove them, which was approved.
Labour said the new structure in the report from council officers followed the law which sets out how councils must be run.