A council leader is set to remain in his post despite a vote of no confidence being passed against him last night.

Brighton and Hove City Council leader Jason Kitcat dismissed the move by his political rivals to oust him as “grubby” during a heated council chamber debate last night.

A motion of no confidence tabled by the Labour group leader Warren Morgan was passed by 29 yes votes to 20 no votes but carries no binding powers to force Coun Kitcat from his position.


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The motion came after the Green party announced proposals for a referendum on a 4.75% council tax rise.

While many Conservative councillors voted in favour of the motion, many of them admitted to doing so with a heavy heart while Coun Morgan was ridiculed for his proposal for a caretaker administration to step in and replace the current Green leadership.

Conservative group leader Geoffrey Theobald questioned how the selection process to find respected councillors would work.

He ridiculed Coun Morgan for moving from “Victor Meldrew to Simon Cowell” for an X Factor selection of a new administration for the remaining 450 days before the next elections.

Labour were also accused of hypocrisy for proposing the vote of no confidence despite former Labour council leader Ken Bodfish carrying on in the role following similar votes against him in the past.

Conservative councillor Garry Peltzer-Dunn said he had initiated the previous motion of no confidence against Coun Bodfish.

He said that while Coun Kitcat could ignore the vote, he should recognise it as “a wake-up call” for his administration to take responsibility for its actions, which included setting its own budget.

Fellow Conservative councillor and former council leader Mary Mears said she sympathised with Coun Kitcat and understood the difficulties of running a council.

She added: “But I have to say in all fairness, whether from inexperience or whether from not listening as they should do, this council has come off the rails. The city is not happy. People are saying this council has come off the rails and something needs to be done about it.”

Coun Kitcat labelled his Labour counterpart “Councillor No” saying he was “never positive, always negative.”

He added: “This is a grubby little motion seeking to distract from the real serious challenges this city faces and belittles this chamber.”

Green councillor Lizzie Deane described the motion as “vacuous”.

In reference to Coun Morgan’s previous comments comparing the council leader to a “magician”, she said: “If Labour think they can run this city any better than we are, they are going to need a lot more than a bit of magic to do that.”

Coun Morgan said that the debate had descended into a pantomime that had not “covered the council in glory”.

He added: “Pantomime, comedy or farce, it is usually funny but nobody is laughing or enjoying the show. It’s time for the curtain to come down on this miserable Green party.

“The show is over.”