WEST Somerset Council’s controlling Conservative group was this week accused of wasting officers’ time and taxpayers’ money by overturning the results of a secret ballot for key council posts.

Councillors at their annual meeting last Wednesday were issued with documents naming Cllr Andrew Hadley as the new vice-chairman and Cllr Karen Mills as deputy leader.

But then they were told that they had been replaced at the last minute by fellow Conservatives Rosemary Woods and Mandy Chilcott.

In a blistering attack on the Tory group, UKIP member Cllr Terry Venner, a county councillor and former mayor of Minehead, claimed that its “tactics” had cost ratepayers at least £1,000.

And opposition leader Cllr Peter Murphy told the annual meeting that he had looked forward to proposing Cllr Hadley and Cllr Mills but had been told they were now not able to accept.

Cllr Venner told the Free Press: “I find the whole thing bizarre.

AndCllr Murphy said purpose of the informal meeting at which the secret ballots were held was to reach agreements which could then be ratified at a formal meeting.

He said this process was for expediency: “What happened was very unusual, unprecedented.