Labour has been accused of being 'undemocratic' after changing council rules so they can choose committee chairs.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council's constitution previously required the chairs and vice-chairs of committees to be shared out between parties to reflect the political balance of the authority.

But the council has now voted to amend this rule so that the appointment of chairs and vice-chairs will be at the discretion of the controlling party, which is currently Labour.

Labour leaders say they proposed the change following a series of party defections in recent months – mostly Conservative to Reform UK – each of which has required the political balance and committee allocations to be recalculated.

They say this process of 'musical chairs' has taken up officer time while also destabilising the council's committee system.

But opposition parties claim Labour's move was designed specifically to prevent the council's growing Reform group being allocated a committee chair position.

Reform currently has five city councillors, four of whom have moved from the Conservative group since November. The latest defector, Carl Edwards, changed parties just 24 hours before Thursday's full council meeting, where the constititional amendment was approved.

Reform councillor Luke Shenton accused Labour of wanting to 'silence' opposition parties.

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He said: "The only reason they're changing this now is because the Reform group was eligible for a chair position for the first time.

They are terrified, trying to cling on and silence other parties. Just like the current government you are behaving undemocratically and u-turning.

"We cannot vote for this amendment. This Labour administration's days are numbered. This decision may be something they regret come the next election."

Conservative councillor Ross Irving described the change as a 'retrograde step'. He said: "I've always believed that on this authority all councillors are equal, but it would appear that if this motion gets carried some will be considerably more equal than others.

"I understand why you're proposing it. You don't want the Reform leader to have a chair or a vice-chair. But is disbarring a certain politician a good enough reason to disbar everyone from taking part?"

Labour cabinet member Chris Robinson said he understood Cllr Irving's concerns, but insisted the change was being made for practical reasons, following the recent spate of councillor defections.

He said: "We can't keeping having, every six weeks, this drip feed of councillors leaving the Conservatives and going over to Reform, because every six weeks it means having to move people around committees. This is just an easier way."

Labour cabinet member Finlay Gordon-McCusker added: "There's a really simply reason for this. You can't have a system of musical chairs in the council, where someone will wake up and decide they're no longer blue, they're a different shade of blue.

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"What we're doing here is serious, we're running a city. And the scrutiny of that is incredibly important. People can change parties, but you don't get to destabilise the government of this council. Residents deserve stability."

Labour councillors also pointed out that Newcastle Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council already have a system where the controlling party – Conservatives and Reform respectively – appoint all committee chairs.

Council leader Jane Ashworth told the meeting that the chair of the strategy and resouces scrutiny committee would be 'gifted' to the Conservative group, due to the importance of examining the council's finances.

The allocation of seats on committees will continue to be politically balanced, in line with statute.