I WAS as surprised as anyone when I discovered that Cllr John Baldock had resigned from the cabinet.
Certainly when I spoke to his Conservative colleagues they all appeared to be singing from the same hymn sheet as to his reasons for going.
But others aren't so sure, pointing out that it is very rare for anyone to quit half way through a civic year. Anyone considering stepping down usually does so after the May elections reshuffle.
Some Tory sources reckon he'd quite simply had enough, and that this was beginning to show through - with the October full council meeting being a case in point. You may remember my blog posting which referred to sparks flying between Cllr Baldock and his cabinet colleague Adrian Owens (finance) over an environmental health spending issue. Just a few weeks later he'd resigned.
It's also being hinted at that the Tory rift which we reported on in May may have something to do with that as I'm reliably informed the tensions haven't subsided between the Young Turks (Thatcherites) and the Old Guard (One Nation Tories).
I wonder what the end game will be...?
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