Mayor faces vote of no confidence

Mr Winter was Doncaster's first elected mayor in 2002

Doncaster's elected mayor is facing a vote of no confidence six weeks after being expelled from the Labour Party.

Opposition councillors claim the conduct of Mayor Martin Winter is damaging the council's integrity.

He was expelled from Labour in May after leaving the party to form his own political group.

At a meeting on Monday, councillors will consider a motion which says his style of leadership conflicts with the best interests of the council.

The full motion, proposed by independent councillor David Hughes, says: "The elected members of this council and the electorate of Doncaster are growing more dissatisfied with the style of leadership and conduct of the elected mayor.

"To protect the integrity of the council and elected members and the communities they represent, this council supports a vote of no confidence in the elected mayor's style of leadership and conduct, which conflicts with the best interests of this council."

'Constitutional crisis'

Mr Winter has been twice-elected since 2002 but Labour rules do not allow someone to run for a third time.

When he announced he was forming a new party - the Labour Group - on 12 May, Independent group leader Garth Oxby described the situation as "a constitutional crisis".

The mayor was was sacked from the Labour group during a council meeting on 28 May.

Doncaster Council is one of 12 nationally to be run by an elected mayor.

Mr Winter became the first elected mayor of Doncaster in 2002 and was re-elected in 2005.

Labour has the largest share on Doncaster Council with 27 seats, while independents have 15, Lib Dems 12 and Conservatives nine.

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