A VOTE which could have seen Swindon Borough Council leader David Renard ousted tonight will now not go ahead.

Independent Tory councillor Oliver Donachie will ask to withdraw his motion of no confidence in his former Conservative colleague.

Had it been passed – and it needed three of the 30 Conservative councillors to vote against their leader – the ruling Conservative group would have been looking for a new leader of the council. 

Until May Councillors Renard and Donachie seemed to be very close colleagues. 

They both represent the Haydon Wick Ward, and Coun Donachie was the member for economy and place in Coun Renard’s cabinet. 

It was he who nominated Coun Renard for the leadership of the Conservative group in early May  after the postponed  local elections. Coun Renard was re-elected as leader unopposed, with unanimous support. 

But at a cabinet meeting and special committee meeting Coun Donachie expressed his unhappiness with a proposal to give council officers more powers to make decisions - it was intended to speed things up, particularly during the coronavirus lockdown. 

Within days he had resigned from the cabinet and the Conservative Group. He set up his own group, Independent Tories, and is joined in it by Priory Vale councillor and partner Emma Faramarzi.

After some weeks of frosty relations, and criticism by Coun Donachie of the leadership of the council administration, where he said the administration was “lethargic and asleep at the wheel”, it emerged in August that Coun Donachie had applied to rejoin the Conservative group. 

After what was described as a stormy meeting, the group’s 30 councillors voted by a small margin to re-admit him, but talks between Coun Donachie and Coun Renard broke down.

Coun Donachie then resigned from the national Conservative party and said he had no interest in being a member of the group in Euclid Street under Coun Renard’s leadership.