A NEW chairman has been appointed at Worcestershire County Council - after claims the role is being driven by "political ideology".

Conservative Councillor Tony Miller, who spent 29 years as a back-office worker at West Mercia Police, has been selected as County Hall's civic figurehead.

The role, similar to that of a mayor, means he will spend the next year touring Worcestershire as the council's representative for all sorts of public functions and events.

But the opposition Labour group has again failed in a bid to get one of its own councillors selected for the position of vice-chair - a 12-month role which acts as a precursor to the top role.

During a full council meeting Councillor Peter McDonald, Labour group leader, tried to get Councillor Andy Fry chosen and forced a vote.

Councillor McDonald said: "We all know how respected he is, if he is chosen he would be the ideal ambassador for this county.

"It will also mean we'd move away from political ideology in this chamber, and elect people to roles because they are the best people for it, not just on political grounds."

Councillor Sheila Blagg, who sits in the Conservative cabinet, said she agreed with his view about it being an important non-political role, but suggested the position should go to Tory June Griffiths, which was voted through.

Councillor Miller, a married father-of-two, was first elected as a councillor in Wychavon back in 1994 and was its chairman in 2010.

He is also an ex-chairman of North Claines Parish Council, and during the meeting called it "a great honour" to be the main civic figurehead at County Hall.

Councillor Ian Hopwood, the previous chairman, also stood down after completing his year in the position.

The Conservative suffered a heart attack last October, which he referred to in his speech.

"It's been an honour to have been a custodian of the chairmanship of the county council," he said.

"I'd like to say thank you to a lot of people, it's been a year of good experiences and one bad one, but we'll gloss over that."

The council has also made some other key appointments to its committee meetings.

Councillor Alan Amos, the former Mayor of Worcester, is the new chairman of the health, overview and scrutiny committee (HOSC), which keeps tabs on NHS services.

It is widely considered the most influential committee at County Hall, with Councillor Amos taking over from Tory Andy Roberts.

Meanwhile Councillor Paul Tuthill, a backbencher from Malvern, has been promoted to chairman of the economy and environment scrutiny panel, taking over from Councillor Ken Pollock, who now sits in the cabinet.

That panel investigates issues like congestion, public transport, flooding and infrastructure.