COUNCILLORS in Wirral will decide tonight on the leadership of the borough and how the authority will deal with calls for “radical” change.

It follows a damning report into how the council has been run.

Tories and Lib-Dems have previously called for an all-party cabinet to deal with the Klonowski report – which strongly criticised the council – but this has been resisted by the minority Labour administration.

Council leader Steve Foulkes said his party’s amendment would “hopefully please the Lib-Dems”, offering to move towards a combination of cabinet and committee structure.

It also seeks to co-opt Lib-Dem and Tory leaders on to a cabinet committee to deal with the changes, but he added: “We will wait and see what happens on the night.”

The full council meeting will also consider a resolution from the Conservatives calling for Cllr Foulkes to be removed, but it would need the support of the smallest party, the Lib-Dems, who, with nine councillors, hold the balance of power, to have a chance of success.

Initial notices of motion from Tories and Lib-Dems had appeared to show some similarities, but their own last- minute amendments now suggest the smallest party has backed off from pushing Labour towards the “All Party Unity Cabinet” which is mentioned in the Lib-Dem notice. At the end of last week, Tory leader Jeff Green wrote to all 65 of his council colleagues urging them to vote for an all-party cabinet tonight.

Cllr Green said: “This council has ripped off the most vulnerable people in our care and then attempted to bully and marginalise those who had the guts to speak out.Š

“No more.

“Every member of the council must now realise the time of political calculation and shabby back-room deals has passed.

“If any councillor thinks the worst is behind us, they really do need to think again.”