A LONG-serving Worcester councillor is stepping down from his seat because he believes most elected members at the Guildhall are simply wasting their time.

Councillor Bob Peachey, the Labour member for Arboretum who was first elected to Worcester City Council in 1988, has become disenchanted with the way the authority operates and will step down on May 1.

He told your Worcester News that while helping individual members of his community with day-to-day problems is a very worthwhile part of the job, he resents the council's "undemocratic" cabinet system under which a small group of councillors make all the key decisions.

"I feel like Ive had enough, really," he said. "I'm resentful that under the cabinet system, I have no voice at all in decision-making. There's almost no point in being there - I have no opportunity to contribute. It really is undemocratic."

Prior to 2000, local authorities made all their decisions through a system of cross-party committees, the political make -up of which would reflect the balance of power.

"I was a member of the council both in control and in opposition, and under the old system you always had some input," said Coun Peachey, aged 70. "The ruling group would have the upper hand, of course, but you could take part in the process and feel you were contributing. Now there are seven people (the cabinet) who make every decision on their own."

Coun Peachey is also one of the city's representatives on Worcestershire County Council, but praised the cabinet system at County Hall, which gives non-cabinet members the chance to operate as a watchdog group.

"The city council's own scrutiny committee does its best, but it has no teeth," Coun Peachey said. "It must be given proper funding like the group at County Hall."

However, the city's Tory leader, Councillor Simon Geraghty, said the cash-strapped city council could not afford to spend money on hiring extra staff to support its scrutiny group.

"Our net budget of £13 million is on a different scale to the county council's, which is nearly half a billion," he said. "We are quite a small council having to make significant savings. I feel councillors have the opportunity to offer plenty of meaningful input."