town councillors have demanded a leadership debate amid claims some of them are being sidelined while Dartmouth council itself has achieved little or nothing over the last two years.

Councillors don't get one with one another and have splintered into different factions, one outspoken councillor has warned.

Cllr Dave Cawley has divided the 16-strong council members in to four groups – which include one group labelled 'mayor's cabal', another headed 'old school' and third called 'lost souls' and the last 'working together'.

And Cllr Cawley declared that the 'working together' section simply has no names in it at all.

'We have not done anything in the last two years and there are councillors who feel that they have no input at all,' said Cllr Cawley.

'In the old days we got things done and we all knew one another. These days we don't get on, we have not achieved anything and we have no idea what makes each other tick. We ought to but we just don't get on.'

His comments came just a week after an informal council meeting which elected current mayor Paul Allen as the mayor elect for the third year running and current deputy mayor Rob Lyon as the deputy mayor elect for the second year running.

At the same meeting, there were calls for a leadership debate to take pace at yesterday's general purposes committee meeting.

Behind the call was veteran town councillor and chairman of the council's finance committee Francis Hawke.

He said: 'All I am asking is have we got the organisation of the council right. Should we be looking at a different style of leadership.

'We could do what Totnes does and have a mayor and a leader of the council. We need to have that debate.'

He also agreed that some councillors feel that they not being involved in council work and decision-making.

'Some councillors feel they are not involved enough and want to be more involved. I would like us to be an inclusive council where we all work together.'

Cllr Cawley listed the town councillors he felt dropped in to each of his four categories.

He claimed that the 'mayor's cabal' was made up of Cllr s Allen, Felicity Smith, Roger Cooke, Robin Springett, Rob Lyon and Chris Smith.

The 'old school' were himself, Francis Hawke, Tess de Galleani and David Gent while the 'lost souls' were Les Barnes, Andy Carter, Ivan Dohoczki, Roger Chilcott, Steve Smith and Hayley Rundle.

Under the heading of 'working together', he said not a single councillor fell into that category.

'I created the categories and then fitted the councillors in and no one actually fitted into that category,' he said.

He pointed out that in the last decade the town council had helped achieve a 'whole flurry of things', including the town market regeneration, the Flavel community centre, the sports hall, the community hall, new allotments and a natural burial site while working with local organisations from the Dart Harbour and the naval college to the tourist information centre and the chamber of trade.

'I agree that we have not done anything at all in the last two years,' he added.