Our sources have finally spilled and we can confirm that the Tories have picked Councillor Thomas Jay as Leader of the opposition and Councillor Jeremy Oates as the deputy leader. It’s somewhat of a comedown for Oates who is used to running the show, but opposition is a different beast for the party after 20 years of being in control, so we guess it was felt Thomas Jay may as well get on with it.
Of course the casualty in all of this was Councillor Sam Smith whose short tenure as Deputy Leader of the council came to an end. It has been suggested that the split that our source says still exists within the group will be put to rest with this appointment. This of course remains to be seen, but since the Tories have only two years to lick their wounds before they lose even more seats in 2026, it is probably sensible to ease the friction. But don’t worry Sam, Sarah Edwards MP for Moseley North apparently anticipated this, and she’s got your back.
Unsurprisingly, we are told that the spectre of Councillor Richard Kingstone raised it’s head, having apparently been in secret talks with the Tory association to come back into the fold. It is understood that two Councillors in the meeting threatened to quit the Tories if this came to fruition. We shall be watching that with interest, quite how anyone would believe it acceptable to take him back is beyond us here at Debunking. Didn’t the Tories read our deep dive on his antics? He along with his mates have done more damage to the Tories in recent history than anyone else, and his only motivation for returning would be to ensure his own political survival and perhaps a shot at the Mayoralty again.
As for Labour, right now we do not know what has happened in their AGM which we believe happened on the same night. Is wet lettuce Councillor Carol Dean still their leader, or did the coup happen? Who have they picked for the cabinet positions? We would love a proper Labour mole here at Debunking, we are fairly sure your much swelled group can handle a bit of leakage now. Please do get in touch with your gossip. The full council meeting is on the 21st of May, so we shall get to see the lay of the land at this point in any case.
We shall also be launching a new feature on Debunking, Labour Councillors attendance check sponsored by Councillor Helen Hadley. We aren’t sure how this will be implemented just yet, we are thinking an absence counter widget on the site somewhere. Exciting stuff hey.
