Tory leader survives coup attempt by one vote - his own

EDINBURGH'S Tory leader Iain Whyte has survived a coup attempt from within his own party – by voting for himself.

The Conservative's education spokesman Jeremy Balfour challenged Councillor Whyte for the leadership role at the party's AGM yesterday.

Councillor Whyte won a vote from the party's 11 city councillors 6-5, but both candidates were allowed to vote for themselves under the election rules.

The police board convener, who has led the Edinburgh branch of the party since 2002, saw off talk of a leadership contest last year but has been under pressure since the party slipped to fourth place in the last local elections.

Party insiders today told the Evening News that many councillors were unhappy with Cllr Whyte's leadership style and the party's under-performance in recent years.

Elected to the Murrayfield seat in 2005, Cllr Balfour is seen as one of the party's rising stars along with other relatively new councillors Jason Rust, Gordon Buchan and Cameron Rose.

Group chairman Allan Jackson today called for unity among party members, while Cllr Balfour said he now fully backed his group leader despite losing the vote.

However, one party insider, said: "People are unhappy with Iain's leadership style and that is why it was so close.

"We are clearly underperforming and the fact that he didn't get anything like a clear majority tells you everything.

"It needed a fresh approach but we are where we are and we will all need to get on with it."

Following its AGM, the party has created a new weekly "policy" team – which will include councillors Balfour and Whyte – that will determine its short and long-term political strategies.

Cllr Whyte said: "Jeremy and I are on friendly terms and I believe I have his full support, this was not anything personal.

"We now have to concentrate on the matter in hand and increasing our visibility across the city.

"The Conservative group is full of ideas as to how our city could be run better.

"We also have a strong team of leaders in many fields who could show the current council administration a thing or two about how you take on an issue and persuade the public of your case.

"We are going to develop that team in the coming weeks and months to show the administration's failings and prove how we could have a more efficient and effective council in these difficult financial times."

Councillor Balfour said: "There was an election contest but Councillor Whyte and the party knows he has my full backing."

The latest development for the city's Tory party is a far cry from its heyday in the 1980s. In the 1982 Lothian elections, Labour and the Tories won exactly the same number of seats and the Tories, led by the late Brian Meek, formed a coalition with Donald Gorrie's Liberals to run the council.

But Labour won again in 1986 and kept control at the City Chambers until 2007 when the Lib Dem/SNP administration took over.

Cllr Jackson added: "It is now time for the group to use the talents of all our members to increase support for the Conservatives."