A council leader who has been at the centre of a crisis within the local Tory party is facing a vote of no confidence.

Gravesham councillors are set to vote on whether they still have faith in Cllr David Turner (Ind) later today.

It comes two months after he and a group of colleagues broke away from the main Conservative party to form a splinter group, Gravesham Independent Conservatives.

The defection came after Cllr Turner and his associates alleged they had been bullied by the Gravesham Conservative Association.

The vote of no confidence is set to be brought by fierce rival Cllr Leslie Hills (Con) and seconded by Cllr Jordan Meade (Con).

In the run up to that vote, Cllr Turner's ally Cllr John Knight (Ind) will ask colleagues to approve mandatory bullying training for all councillors and senior officers in a nod to ongoing grievances.

That motion will be seconded jointly by Cllr Turner and Labour group leader Cllr John Burden.

It will include an ACAS definition of what constitutes bullying, describing it as: "any unwanted behaviour that makes someone feel intimidated, degraded, humiliated or offended".

It also says this can occur "in written communications, by phone or through email, not just face-to-face or through body language or gesture".

Gravesham council has been engulfed in two months of turmoil since Cllr Turner, Cllr Knight and former major Cllr Harold Craske announced they would be defecting from the council's Tory group.

Cllr Turner and Cllr Craske had been told they wouldn't be allowed to stand in next year's election by Gravesham Conservative Association (GCA), while deputy leader Cllr Knight had been accused of assaulting GCA member Cllr Bryan Sweetland and remains suspended pending a trial.

All three said they had been subjected to sustained bullying by members of GCA.

Seven councillors joined them and since then two more have followed suit, drawing GIC level with the Tories on 12 councillors a piece. Labour has 20 councillors.

Cllr Turner said he was confident the motion of no confidence will be defeated, adding: "This question needs to be aired. It's unfortunate the council has switched from many years of people working together to a place where people are being intimidated and a thought police is operating. The whole thing is very unpleasant and it does nothing at all for the local people."

Speaking about the bullying proposal he said: "No one can vote against that. It makes sense that people know what bullying is and how to avoid it."

Cllr Hills, who left his role as deputy last November over the prospect of building on the green belt, is the new Tory group leader.

The Conservatives have insisted all its councillors leave any top committee roles and the council's cabinet is now entirely GIC.

The current situation has been branded "immoral" and "undemocratic" by Cllr Hills who says the public voted for Conservatives and the council is now being run by independents.