Wolverhampton Tories announce new leader
Finance chief Wendy Thompson will take over as the leader of the Conservative party in Wolverhampton following the retirement of Neville Patten, it has been revealed.
Councillor Thompson, who represents Tettenhall Wightwick on the council, said she was given the encouragement to take over by her former leader.
She said she has a big job on her hands following the results of the recent local elections, where the party were beaten into third place by UKIP in many wards.
She said: "I am obviously very pleased that I was put in this position by my group.
"I think there is a big job to be done. It is extremely important that we have a healthy opposition."
Councillor Thompson, who was formerly the health chief for the group, paid tribute to outgoing leader Neville Patten, who has retired after 27 years as a councillor.
She said: "I think Neville did a great job. I don't think people realise how hard he worked. He attended meetings around Wolverhampton and in London, but also worked very hard in his ward in Bushbury North.
"He gave me a lot of encouragement."
The new leader said she felt that the Labour party had done "a great deal of damage" during their time in power.
She said: "I would tell the public to go into the city and look around them and see if this is what they want.
"I think people want a lot more from the place where we live"
