A NORTHERN council is being reported to the Government for unfair practice.

Local Government Minister Hilary Armstrong's office says it will look into a complaint that Stockton Borough Council's Labour leaders are excluding members of the opposition Conservative group from decision-making.

A similar protest is being made by the Liberal Democrats, whose leader described the Labour councillors as "control freaks".

Councillor Stephen Smailes, leader of the Conservative group, said: "I asked Hilary Armstrong, at a seminar, what role she saw for opposition members under the new system for local government. She replied that opposition members should be able to play a meaningful role in the new system."

He added: "It is not democracy at Stockton, where it is a one-party system, like the old Kremlin.

"If this system had been in place when I was first elected in 1967, I would have just walked away; but now I have got to try and make it work for those people in Stockton who did not vote Labour."

Councillor David Coleman, deputy leader of the council's controlling Labour group, said: "We are following, as far as we possibly can, the guidelines laid down by the Department of Environment, Transport and Regions.''

Coun Coleman said no decisions had been made on the chairmanship of scrutiny committees - a decision which would be left to the full council.