Sandwell Council's new leader has vowed to bring unity to the authority following years of "discord".
Councillor Yvonne Davies was officially elected as chief at a Sandwell Council meeting, held on Tuesday (May 21) night.
She had narrowly beaten colleague Ann Shackleton by 35 votes to 33 at the annual general meeting of the local Labour group earlier this month and takes over from Steve Trow, who stepped down following the council elections.
In an unusual step the leadership election was overseen by the party's powerful executive committee after complaints about the conduct of a previous AGM.
Sandwell Labour had also been rocked by a series of councillor expulsions including Julie Webb, Bill Cherrington and Caroline White, who were all thrown out after allegedly supporting a rival candidate during the local election on May 2.
At this week's council meeting, Councillor Davies said: "We are first and foremost public servants and people are entitled to expect and, indeed, they should demand that we will conduct ourselves with the utmost integrity and that we uphold the highest standards of the council.
"It is to the detriment of this council that in the past we have fallen short in this regard.
"Most of you know I'm direct in my approach and I won't dodge difficult decisions and I will take all decisions without fear and without favour.
"There has been a deal of well documented discord in this council over recent years and I'm not going to rake over all that again because we really need to move on.
"Equally, we need to learn the lessons and not make the same mistakes. I promise I will work tirelessly to bring unity and common sense to this council."
Earlier this year, former leader Steve Eling quit the party weeks after he was suspended pending a Labour Party investigation into a complaint against him.
Councillor Davies' election makes her the authority's third leader in just six months.
She said: "It is a huge, huge privilege for me and an honour to be elected leader of Sandwell Council. I can barely believe it myself.
"There is much for us to do and our hobs are to important. I have spent most of my adult life in public service and all I've ever wanted to do is make a difference in people's lives. That's what will drive me as leader of the council."
