A MOTION of no confidence in the leadership of Christchurch council failed - to the disgust of protesting residents.

Independent leader Cllr Colin Bungey proposed the motion at full council on Tuesday evening, saying the leadership of Cllr Ray Nottage and Cllr Claire Bath 'had brought the council into disrepute'.

He said the motion was not 'politically motivated' but borne out of genuine concern for Christchurch and was a bid to restore the previous good name the council had with residents.

It was seconded by Cllr Fred Neale who said: "Residents have informed me they have lost confidence in the current leadership over the past several months.

"Specifically, they demand from me, to support this action, to highlight how they feel about a number of recent issues."

Cllr Neale said some members had been posted a derogatory song about the leader recently from a resident "showing their discontentment".

He added: "Not that long ago, this council was held in very high esteem. But the longer it goes on, the faster down that slippery aisle of mistrust we will all go."

However, despite dissent in the Tory group, the motion was defeated 18-3, with all the Conservative members voting against it.

Before the vote, Cllr David Jones said: "This motion, even if it were passed by every member of the council would have no effect because the constitution defines that the leader of the council shall be the leader of the majority group.

"This council as it stands cannot change that decision, therefore I cannot support this motion."

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Bungey said: "By invoking the Conservative whip, the Tories on the council have done the residents of Christchurch a grave disservice.

"It shows that the leader of the council will do anything to cling to power; last time he used his own casting vote to stay in place.

"Those who wanted a new leader were forced to vote to keep the current leader or be thrown out.

"This was not democracy. And it will be interesting to see how people vote in next year's county council elections."

A protest was held before the meeting outside the Civic Offices, with residents also heckling members during their discussion.