The leader of Rutland County Council is remaining silent until the leadership challenge against her is heard in the chamber, the authority has said. 

The newly boosted seven strong Conservative group at Rutland County Council mounted a leadership challenge yesterday, just days after winning a by-election in the Barleythorpe ward. 

The group's leader Councillor Lucy Stephenson says the challenge is being made at pace due to the short time to respond to the local government reorganisation being imposed by central government. 

The Conservatives are in favour of Rutland remaining as a stand-alone authority and say the option has not been discussed by the Liberal Democrat administration. 

Leader Gale Waller has previously said she does not want the reorganisation to go ahead, but says the matter is out of her hands. The preferred choice of the administration is a new authority with some neighbouring Leicestershire councils and a rival bid to include Rutland with some Lincolnshire councils has not been given much attention. 

The authority said today that Cllr Waller, who has been in charge since the 2023 local elections, will not be making any comment ahead of a special meeting on Tuesday (August 5) evening at the council's headquarters in Oakham. 

There, the Conservatives will hope to persuade some fellow councillors to join with them in the leadership coup, however they will have their work cut out. If they succeed a new leader will be voted in. As yet no names of potential challengers are being made public. 

There are seven conservatives and 11 Lib Dems on the council. The Tories will need the majority of the seven independent councillors to join their cause. There are also two Labour councillors, but it is unlikely they will support the Conservative motion. 

Speaking today Cllr Oliver Hemsley (Independent), a former leader of the council when he was a member of the Conservative group, said he did not agree with what the Tories were doing and said he thought party politics should not be involved in local government. 

He said: "I am going to think about it over the next week. I think there are some other solutions that could be put forward." 

He did not expand on what those solutions might be. 

Cllr Waller's Lib Dem colleague and cabinet member Cllr Christine Wise said she was 'obviously' supporting Cllr Waller.