Who spilled the beans on Wolverhampton coalition confusion?

rounds up the week in the corridors of power.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. It turned out this week that no truer words were ever spoken in Wolverhampton.

Two opposing political parties decided to join forces to oust Labour in 2008 and things seemed to be ticking along nicely. To formalise their alliance, the Tories gave a cabinet post to Lib Dem Claire Darke.

Meanwhile control of the council was balanced on a knife edge as both the coalition and Labour ended up with 30 seats each.

Councillor Darke pulled out of the coalition and suddenly it all looked like it was about to tumble down.

Yet the most extraordinary thing about this mess was not that the coalition has managed to limp on with one vote fewer than the opposition.

Someone within the Lib Dems, who has not been identified, sent out a press release and posted a message on the official website for Wolverhampton claiming that the coalition had ended.

No-one disputed it but ever since Monday, when the coalition decided it would carry on after all, no-one has taken responsibility for that message.

The leader of the group on the council, Mike Heap, says only that the situation remains under discussion.

But as far as the anonymous writer of the statement on the party's official website in Wolverhampton is concerned, the time for talking is done and the coalition should be brought to an end. The Lib Dems need to get back around their own table soon and decide once and for all where their loyalties lie or they will tear themselves apart.

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The chairmen of the Wolverhampton South West and East Lib Dem parties have both supported Claire Darke in her choice to leave the coalition.

That is all well and good and highlights the obvious concerns that Lib Dem members throughout the land would have about going into a coalition with a rival party.

In the meantime, however, there is the matter of the council trying to respond to next month's government spending review. David Cameron and Nick Clegg joined forces to create a "strong and stable government". Sadly the same cannot be said for Wolverhampton.

If one person's unhappiness at being in partnership with another party can pull the rug out from the ruling cabinet then that is about as far from stable as it is possible to get.

The Labour Party is still not ready to try to seize power because its leader, Roger Lawrence, knows he does not have the numbers to make an administration stable either.

Better to stay in opposition where the large number of councillors on his side means he can table amendments to Tory policies and get them approved. But it is hardly ideal for the taxpayers of Wolverhampton.

The question about who is in control of the council has been hanging over the Civic Centre since a week ago yesterday and it is still not resolved.

And if the Lib Dems are still in dispute with each other behind the scenes, how can we be sure that they will provide adequate support to a rival party they joined forces with?

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One good thing has happened as a result of the chaos in Wolverhampton. Now that Claire Darke is no longer cabinet member for schools, the Tory leader has appointed Councillor Christine Mills in her place.

Councillor Mills is already cabinet member for children and young people and will do both jobs. She will not get Councillor Darke's £17,961 special responsibility allowance on top of her own.

So that's a saving towards the total pounds the council has to cut from its budget. But it does beg the question why there were ever two posts in the first place if one person is able to do them both.