Tories given the push

Four Tory councillors have been given the push in the latest controversy to hit the party in South Staffordshire.

Peter Timms, district councillor for Wombourne, and Pam and Cyril Bromley and Nigel Caine, councillors for Perton, were deselected at a recent meeting.

Today one of their colleagues, independent Perton councillor Penny Allen, criticised the Conservative Association for "backstabbing and bloodletting". She said: "I can't see how this is serving our people very well.

"I, like others, are worried about what is happening."The residents should know what is going on. It is one reason I don't stand for a political party, and I am sorry that the Conservative Party feel the need to do this."

The news has emerged days after Sir Patrick Cormack, Conservative MP for South Staffordshire, was ousted by a secret vote.

Tory leaders insist that the latest moves are not connected to the deselection of the political stalwart, who is now threatening to stand as an independent at the next general election.

The chairman of the association, Perton East district councillor David Billson, confirmed that the councillors had been deselected.

But he insisted that there was nothing sinister going on inside the party.

He said: "It happened at a meeting of the membership which took place in January.

"There was a meeting because the number of candidates were oversubscribed, so we had a ballot, and they were not selected.

"There is definitely no backstabbing going on. People are entitled to their own view."The councillors will hold office until the elections in May.

Councillor Cyril Bromley said that it had come as a great shock to him and his wife when they lost the vote.

He added that it appeared to him as if the Conservatives were having a "clean-out".

He said: "Altogether, I've been a councillor for 16 years, and I'm not entirely sure why we were deselected. Obviously, there are some people there who think they can do the job better.

"We've done our bit, so now it's their turn."