Published: Monday, 12th May, 2008 2:55pm

Coalition set to reclaim power

by Aamina Zafar

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LABOUR'S short-lived spell in charge of Slough Borough Council is set to come to a crashing end this week as furious politicians dramatically left the party to join the Conservatives.

Cllr Diana Coad, the Tory parliamentary candidate for Slough, has confirmed enough Labour councillors had defected to her party on Sunday to take control with the BILLD group when councillors next meet on Thursday at the mayor-making ceremony.

Speaking exclusively to the Midweek, she said: "Let's put it this way, we have enough councillors to take control. I can't confirm how many new members we have because numbers are rising. We will work with the BILLD group because we have worked well together for a number of years."

Cllr Pervez Choudhry, who is at the centre of the shake-up, said: "I can confirm that I have left the Labour Party and joined the Conservatives and that others have also followed." He says arguments erupted on Saturday last week when a row broke out about the structure of the Labour party.

Cllr Choudhry claims 15 of the 23 Labour councillors voted in favour of him becoming the leader of the council after Labour took victory at the local election the previous day.

The party officially nominated Cllr Rob Anderson as council leader and Cllr James Swindlehurst as deputy. The pair were Labour leader and deputy leader while in opposition.

Former Slough Borough Council leader, Cllr Richard Stokes, said: "I haven't had a meeting with the councillors in question but it appears that Labour seems to be going through a period of self destruction."

Labour had put on a united front when they managed to claw back power of Slough Council after four years in opposition. The party held 23 of the 41 available seats. They bucked national trends on a night where Labour suffered big losses across the country.

Many dedicated Labour politicians including Central ward, Cllr Shafiq Chaudhry, are angry at the latest developments. He said: "It is not fair to fight the elections as a Labour councillor and to then change parties for your personal benefit days later. I believe your personal agenda should not come into politics."

Safdar Ali, chairman of Slough Labour Party, added: "Neither the national Labour Party or Slough Labour Party has received anything in writing from these individuals so we are unable to comment."

For the latest on this story see www.sloughobserver.co.uk