A BID to change the rules at Worcester City Council to prevent any repeats of the 'Mayorgate' saga has been scotched - after the Tory leadership chucked it out amid a furious debate.

During a vote at the Guildhall, an attempt to select the Mayor of Worcester on the basis of time served was rejected by 18 votes to 16 last night.

Green Councillor Neil Laurenson wanted a new system of "seniority" introduced so every year, the longest serving politician gets first refusal on the chains following the Alan Amos controversy.

But the Labour group said it needed to be examined in more detail as part of a wider look at the constitution, while the Conservatives insisted there was nothing wrong with the current system.

Cllr Laurenson said: "Seniority takes all of the political shenanigans out of it, it has worked elsewhere.

"Let's restore people's faith in this council by voting for this motion."

Lib Dem Councillor Liz Smith said she was "dismayed" at the current status quo which saw Cllr Amos take office.

"It is difficult to separate the role of mayor from the city’s politics – the casting vote makes sure of that," she said.

"Although being mayor is a duty, It is an honour and privilege and it’s also very high-profile.

"For this reason it is sought after by some, and as long as it’s sought-after and carries the casting vote it will be open to political manipulation.

“This council is facing unprecedented financial constraints at a time when major growth is planned and global issues will not leave us alone.

“Above all it needs stability the space in which to think and act long-term.

“It does not need to be held to ransom by a single member, and whether that member is a representative of an established minority party, arguing for idiosyncratic or long-cherished policies, or an idiosyncratic member taking rogue decisions.”

During the debate Labour group leader Councillor Adrian Gregson said "I agree the whole episode earlier this year has brought shame and disrepute on the council".

But he also called the motion, a "knee-jerk" one, saying he had not been consulted over it, and said a "constitutional working party" should be set up to look at it in more detail.

Councillor Geoff Williams, Labour group deputy leader, said the Cllr Amos saga has “done the whole office of the Mayor of Worcester not a lot of good”, but agreed it needed to be considered in more detail alongside issues like the mayor having the casting vote.

But many Conservatives said there was no need to change the current status quo.

Councillor Robert Rowden said, a former mayor and leader, said: “The mayor is not some sort of cookie to be given for long service.

“I’d rather use democracy, which has worked pretty well ever since the beginning.”

Councillor Lucy Hodgson, who was city mayor in 2008, said: "I was elected in 2003 and chose to become deputy mayor in 2007, before I was mayor in 2008 - I was 47 years old.

"I did it when the time was right for me, it wasn't about lists or pecking orders."

She said "I had the time of my life", and insisted changing it would "discriminate" against younger councillors and those who work.

Tory Councillor Andy Roberts, another former mayor, said it would "do away with any mayor who's relatively young", saying "unless you're in your 60s you'd have no chance".

He said it "ignored aptitude", was "careless of history" and also would harm women, ripping it to pieces.

“The likes of Lucy Hodgson and Pat Agar would never have become mayor,” he said.

Labour’s Jo Hodges said the Cllr Amos shenanigans “caused alarm, mistrust and incredulity” in Worcester, adding: “It was not this council’s finest hour and will take some time for this council to recover from it.”

Other Labour veterans like Paul Denham and Richard Udall called the summer’s events “a fiasco” and an “outrage” but it prompted Tory Councillor Chris Mitchell to say: “I find it appalling that the current mayor has to listen to people taking petty pot shots at him, and can only sit there and do nothing.”

Cllr Udall said: "Rightly or wrongly, there was outrage over what happened earlier this year - Worcester people want change.

"You may even find we can find an agreement we can all come to, to avoid this embarrassing situation ever occuring again."

After a vote on the amended motion, to send it to a constitutional working party, it was rejected by 18 votes to 16, with Cllr Amos backing the Conservative stance.

Labour Councillor Simon Cronin abstained.

Cllr Amos quit Worcester Labour Party in the summer to become an independent.

He then voted with the Conservatives to boot Labour from office 48 hours later, and was made new Mayor of Worcester by the Tories on the same night.

It led to the Labour group calling his resignation over the summer, an unprecedented step, and criticism from the Green and Liberal Democrat parties.

Under Cllr Laurenson’s failed motion, all 35 city politicians would have been placed in a league table based on length of service.

It would have taken into account previous spells on the council, to avoid punishing those who lose their seat in elections before coming back.

Every December the most senior councillor would have got an automatic invite to become the new Mayor of Worcester from May, and select their own deputy.

Supporters of the motion say lots of other town halls around the UK already use the same system for selecting a mayor, and have done for years.