SALFORD City Council leader John Merry comfortably survived an attack on his leadership of the city this week.

Cllr Merry successfully defeated a motion of no confidence by 33 votes to 19 on Wednesday at full council.

There were four abstentions from Lib Dem councillors John Deas, Joe O'Neill and his son Martin, and Janice Taylor, with independent Liberal councillor Geoff Ainsworth backing Cllr Merry.

A jubilant Cllr Merry said: "I regarded this motion as a childish stunt, brought about by people who had failed to win the day over major issues in this council chamber over the last 12 months."

The motion was brought by Conservative leader, Councillor Karen Garrido, following the uproar over the council's funding increase for their Life In Salford magazine and the ice rink.

Cllr Garrido said: "The comments on the readers page of the Advertiser should have brought home to Cllr Merry the huge flaws in his proposals.

"The decision to push through the Life In Salford increase without regard to public opinion shows a total lack of regard.

"The same can be said of the ice rink. The majority of the funding came from the public purse."

She said Cllr Merry's biggest ‘faux pas’ was to nail his colours to the TIF bid, adding that the fact that 86 per cent of people in Salford voted against the bid was ‘significant.’

She slammed Cllr Merry for not informing members about the city being classed as ‘inadequate’ in its handling of looked-after children, and in not allowing the Building Schools For the Future programme to be discussed at scrutiny committee.

Lib Dem leader Councillor Norman Owen said: "What Cllr Merry needs to realise is this is not his council, it is the people of Salford's council."

Cllr Merry replied: "To be accused of poor leadership by Cllr Owen is rather rich, when he had his own leadership battle last year, and one of his own colleagues, Cllr Ainsworth left the party as a result."

He conceded there were inadequacies in the looked-after children department, but it had improved to such an extent that officers were now asked to talk about their recovery programme at conferences.

As to the ice rink, he said: "We are currently finalising the accounts for the ice rink and will be happy to share them when they are ready."

Lead member for children's service, Councillor John Warmisham called the no confidence motion ‘tosh and piffle’ and said: "I used to have a lot of respect for the old Tory guard on the council but you lot are a shower."