TWO of Bournemouth’s most senior Tory councillors have started moves to oust their leader, Cllr Peter Charon.

Cllr Bob Chapman, himself a former leader of Bournemouth Borough Council, is proposing a motion of no confidence to the next Conservative group meeting, due to be held on January 16.

Cllr Charon told the Daily Echo that he could see “no genuine justification” for the motion and that he had not yet been given the details.

He is facing two outstanding complaints from backbenchers over his leadership style and was forced to apologise to party colleague Cllr Mark Anderson last month.

In October, the council’s chief accountant, Stephen Parker, was suspended after voicing concerns over the outsourcing deal with Mouchel.

Last month, Cllr Nicola Greene was sacked from the cabinet for not being “completely on side”.

In a statement to the Daily Echo, Cllr Chapman said the motion was seconded by Cllr Malcolm Davies, as the pair were the longest-serving councillors from Bournemouth East and West.

He said: “The last months have seen a number of concerns raised about the way in which the Conservative group and council are being led.

“The sacking of Cllr Nicola Greene from the cabinet, when her dedication and ability in such a challenging role was in no doubt, was for us the last straw.

“Many of the issues we now face and that have been played out in the press over the last months could have been avoided.

“Cllr Davies and I therefore feel that a change of leader is essential to avoid further damage to the Conservative group and party.

“This is a matter solely for the Conservative group to debate and ultimately decide.

“We will put our case forward to our colleagues at the forthcoming group meeting and will not be making any further comment until then.”

Cllr Charon said that, from the outside, Bournemouth as a town and as a council had a good reputation, recognised in its nomination for council of the year, and that 2011 was “an excellent year”.

He said the Conservative group gave an opportunity once a year for any potential new leaders to step forward.

“Personally I can’t see any genuine justification for this motion at this time and I’m afraid I don’t think it can do anything other than damage the reputation of the council or the group.”

He said it was impossible to please everyone and tough decisions had to be made last year.

Cllr Charon added: “I will put my case forward as best I can and hopefully there will be enough people that accept that it’s a very difficult role that’s not easy to deliver.

“It’s an internal situation; it’s frustrating, that’s for certain."

Cllr Charon’s rise to the top

ELECTED to the Northbourne and Redhill ward in 2007, businessman Cllr Charon was appointed cabinet member for housing and then chaired the council’s overview and scrutiny panel.

He was voted in as leader of the council in 2010 after Cllr Stephen MacLoughlin stood down when pornography was found on his council laptop.

Just a few months later, Cllr Charon led the Tories to an overwhelming victory in the local elections of May 2011, aided by a collapse in the national Lib Dem vote.

His party came away with 45 of the council’s 54 seats, and added another the week after when Independent Cllr Derek Borthwick defected to the Conservatives