A SHOCK bid to oust Burnley Borough Council leader Gordon Birtwistle has failed by a single vote.

Councillors from the Labour, Conservative and British National Party (BNP) opposition parties combined to vote against Coun Birtwistle.

The vote was called for by Coun Peter Doyle, Conservative leader, as the political numbers were even, at the annual council meeting.

Coun Bernard Hill, a Liberal Democrat, resigned recently as Rosegrove with Lowerhouse ward member, prompting a by-election and leaving Burnley’s political balance on a knife-edge.

Eleven Labour councillors, six Conservative representatives and the four BNP members united to oppose Coun Birtwistle.

One councillor abstained, leaving the vote hung at 22 for and 21 against – ensuring the Lib Dem leader survived for another 12 months.

But the move has been condemned by Lib Dems in Burnley, with party chiefs accusing rivals of political skulduggery, as no rival candidate was identified to step into the breach.

A Liberal Democrat group spokesman said: “This unholy alliance between the BNP, Labour and the Conservatives will be a real shock to the people of Burnley and to their members across the country.

“Quite how those three parties could get into bed together is beyond us.

“Labour are now so far to the right of the Tories, all three of these parties consider themselves politically aligned.

“We are now challenging Labour nationally to make it clear to their party in Burnley: Is it acceptable to form an alliance with the BNP and the Tories to try to unseat a Liberal Democrat leader?

"What closed-door discussions between these parties took place?

“Fortunately, they lost the vote, and we did not get to find out who they were planning to propose instead of Coun Birtwistle.”