A no-confidence vote in the leader of Basildon District Council failed to pull in cross-party support last night.

All 22 Labour councillors stayed loyal to leader John Potter and voted down the motion - the first of its kind in Basildon in more than ten years.

Basildon Conservatives submitted the motion following a long-running feud over television licences.

Billericay East Conservative councillor, Tony Archer, also claimed at last night's full council meeting that Mr Potter had interfered in the appointment of council officers.

He said: "My view is that Councillor Potter is not a fit and proper person to be leader of this council."

But Labour colleagues jumped to their leader's defence and told the Conservatives to look at their own party for examples of poor misrepresentation.

Councillor Paul Kirkman (Lab, Fryerns Central) said: "Teresa Gorman has more than likely has lost her right to represent the people of Billericay for misleading parliament and not declaring her interests. If you're looking for dishonesty in politics you should look closer to home."

Leader of Basildon Liberal Democrats, Geoff Williams, said his party was abstaining from voting because the motion was an "embarrassment".

* Earlier in the meeting protesters from Five Links Action Group Residents' Association held up banners in the public gallery, one of which read: "John Potter - Go".

FLAGRA said it had already made the banner before it knew about the no-confidence motion. The group held up the banners when the minutes of a housing committee were being passed which included a motion that £25,000 be spent to improve estates in the district.

The group said it would not have been necessary to have spent that money if the estates had not been neglected.

FLAGRA chairman, Pat Denne, said: "We're here to show that we're still about and are not going to give up fighting until real changes are made."

Angry - protestors outside the meeting

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