Dudley's Tory council leader slams Labour 'lowlife' over move to oust him
Patrick Harley has slammed the opposition Labour group as "lowlife" over a move to oust him as Dudley Council leader.
Labour has called an extraordinary meeting on July 10 to demand that Conservative councillor Mr Harley be removed from his position with "immediate effect".
It comes after a row involving the council leader and fellow Tory councillor Natalie Neale, who in a leaked email said she felt uncomfortable in his presence and threatened to resign from the council's cabinet unless he stepped down.
She has since quit her role as head of adult social care, while Mr Harley has revealed the pair were previously in a relationship.
The matter is currently tied up in litigation.
Councillor Harley told the Star that Labour's move was "nothing but a political stunt".
He added: "They have not even discussed it with me and I think that's bad form, particularly when there is legal action going on. I would not do this to another councillor, I'd wait to see whether there's any merit in it.
"It is an absolute nonsense and just shows what lowlife they are."
Labour leader Councillor Qadar Zada said there was "clearly no political motivation" from his group as they had not put forward an alternative Labour administration.
He pointed out that a Conservative councillor had called for Councillor Harley to stand down, and that a number of women had now left the Tories under his leadership.
Councillor Zada said: "We have been saying for some time that he is not fit to run the council, so it is only right that it is put to the rest of the council.
"This will test whether Conservative councillors have any interest in upholding standards or whether they will just stand behind him for their own benefit."
Labour councillor Cathy Bayton, who represents St James's ward, said: "We can't possibly trust Councillor Harley to lead the borough through the difficult times and challenging issues we face, when he can't even lead his own group appropriately.
"It's time for him to step down."
With the Conservatives outnumbering Labour in the chamber by 44 councillors to 27, Labour would need to count on a significant number of Tory rebels to push the motion through.
The Tories previously lost control of the council in September 2018 following claims that the leadership had failed to address bullying allegations.
The meeting takes place at the Council House at 6pm on July 10, ahead of a full council meeting.
