WORCESTER City Council's ousted Tory leader has told of his "regret" at losing office - taking a swipe at the Labour-Green deal.

Councillor Marc Bayliss has hit out at the talks over a Rainbow Coalition collapsing, saying Labour's "intransigence" killed it off.

He has also spoken of his whirlwind three months as the city's leader, saying even if he never does it again it was an "honour".

The Conservative group at the Guildhall have been confined to opposition despite having 17 of the authority's 35 councillors, making it the largest party.

Its spell in the wilderness could last two years in the event of the Labour-Green deal lasting the course, as there are no district elections in 2017.

We revealed earlier this week how Councillor Bayliss had even offered to resign in the hope of striking a genuine 'multi-party' blue-red-green cabinet.

But even that did not work after Labour insisted it would not serve under any Conservative leader.

Councillor Bayliss said: "However short it was, being the leader of Worcester City Council was an honour.

"Even if I never do it again, it's been something I have enjoyed, even though it was all too brief.

"I do feel regret that we weren't able to have a multi-party agreement, because we were more than willing to participate in that - it was Labour's intransigence that brought it down."

He has also revealed his dismay about the two Green councillors siding with Labour, saying he fears two years of "dither and delay".

The new minority Labour administration will need to rely on the Greens to push through policy.

Councillor Bayliss said he would be opposing them all the way across the chamber.

"I regret that Louis (Stephen, Worcester Green Party's chairman) felt that ultimately, he had to side with Labour," he said.

"I actually fear for this council, I fear the next two years will be one of dither and delay instead of doing what's best for Worcester."

On Thursday we revealed how Councillor Stephen paid his own tribute to the deposed Tory leader, saying he had made "compromise after compromise" to try and strike a multi-party deal before getting the boot.

For his part, Labour leader Councillor Adrian Gregson has pointed to "clear policy differences" between his party and the Tories that made a blue-red deal unworkable.

* We're "honoured" to run the city, says Worcester's new Labour leadership