Tory chiefs on Medway Council have been accused of acting like Zimbabwe's embattled dictator Robert Mugabe.

It followed a failed bid by opposition parties to claim greater powers to scrutinise council decisions, a decision damned as "undemocratic."

Liberal Democrats and Labour councillors had wanted to chair some of Medway Council’s scrutiny committees.

The role of these committees is to hold all departments including social services and finance to account.

But the Conservative administration rejected the move at the last council meeting accusing their political rivals of being "unfit for office."

Labour group leader Cllr Paul Godwin said the ruling party must have attended the Robert Mugabe School of Democracy

Cllr Herbie Crack (LibDem) put forward the proposals in a bid to encourage greater openness and democracy.

At present the Tories have all 10 Cabinet posts, as well as the chairmen and vice-chairmen of the scrutiny committees plis take charge of all the decision-making committees.

Medway Council's deputy leader Cllr Alan Jarrett told the meeting that there were was no need for change.

“It works perfectly well in Medway,” he said.

“The opposition groups have spent the last eight years carping, undermining and criticising everything that happens in Medway.

“They are quite unfit to hold office.

The council then voted to add two more Conservatives members to the new Children's and Adult's committee.

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