WITH reference to your report of Redditch Council's AGM last week (Advertiser, May 21), I attended as an observer.

The Conservative group is, of course, now the largest political group on the council, although not with an overall majority.

What I know from experience is that they could have got a better outcome for themselves if their leader, Gavin Smithers, had talked meaningfully with the other political group leaders.

He failed his group by not doing so.

As a result, vote after vote at the meeting went against them. They failed miserably to make any impact whatsoever.

So much for Councillor Smithers' brave words about Tory efficiency after the election.

I was seated behind the Tory members but quite close at the meeting and caught the occasional glimpse of one or two of their faces and observed the frustration in their body language as vote after vote went against them.

It was evident to me some of that frustration, and possibly anger, was targeted not against the Labour members or even the Liberal Democrats but against their own leadership.

In fact, towards the end, some of them gave up voting altogether.

After the meeting, one leading Conservative councillor confided to me, 'We were stitched up.'

This was because of the failure of the new Council Leader to do his job.

There are and have been for some time clear rifts in the Tory ranks. Will we soon see an enforced reshuffle?

Last week's headline should have been '"Tory leader falls at first hurdle".

ALBERT E WHARRAD

Former Labour Council Leader

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