Leicester Labour wars: Ross Willmott comes back fighting

Regular readers will recall that Ross Willmott was sacked as chair of the city council's scrutiny committee by Leicester's elected mayor Sir Peter Soulsby.

That's right: the mayor, because he wields the Labour whip, has the power to appoint and dismiss the person supposed to hold him to account. This is just one more reason why elected mayors are a bad idea. No wonder voters usually rejected that idea when they are asked.

But Willmott has not take it lying down and has written a bitterly satirical blog post about the man Soulsby out in his place, Ted Cassidy:

On his first day as scrutiny monitor T.C. (Top Cat to his friends) was clearly more worried about how long he would keep his place at this school rather than actually getting on with his work. Perhaps understandable for someone who relies entirely on the patronage of his ruthless guardian. 

He had not even prepared his work plan for the new year, but promised to have it by next month. 

It is the talk of the senior common room that T.C.’s guardian broke all the school rules to get him a place here. He held secret meetings with some of the school governors even at the house of senior prefect Clair, who provided pizza from the tuck shop. He also turned up to a meeting of the head teacher and bursar even though the school rules make it clear that he should not interfere in the appointment of scrutiny monitors. ... 

10 house points are awarded as T.C.’s vain attempt to end the webcasting of the class was unsuccessful. This failed attempt to stifle openness and transparency was no doubt at the request of his guardian, whose colonial approach seems to derive from his love of the past.

Childish? Perhaps, but don't knock it.

The animosities among its Labour grandees are the only thinks that keep Leicester halfway to being a democracy at the moment.