Firebrand ex-cabinet member Andy Connelly, shouty councillor Anne Glover, pretentious website owner Sundip Meghani, giggling Neil Clayton and returning cabinet member Michael Cooke are all behind the campaign to make Willmott mayor of Leicester.

Councillor count is relatively low, though, so he’s used his website to list other “key supporters” from the Labour Party including Sarah Brack, Dave Brazier, Brian and Pat Roberts and Lucy Chaplin.

All very positive. Although just a touch less impressive that it looks. It’s little wonder that he’s secured the endorsement of “key supporter” Ms Chaplin.

She is, after all, Ross’s partner.

UPDATE: It’s worth pointing out that Lucy is also Labour candidate for Stoneygate at the local elections in May, and therefore a political figure in her own right.

“I have no strong views at this time on whether Leicester should have an elected mayor as I think it is an issue for the people of Leicester to decide on.  However, with the budgetary challenges we are facing as a Council it is difficult to justify the cost of a referendum so my concerns are about ensuring that we still have meaningful consultation with the people of the city over whether they want a elected mayor or not.

That is why Sarah and myself have asked for this issue to be included on the agenda for the next Westcotes Community Meeting on Tuesday 30th November 2010.

If we have an elected mayor I will simply want the best candidate for the role (we will no doubt disagree over who is the best candidate) and you may find it difficult to understand but I sought election as a Councillor solely to try and improve the community I live in and the city I was born in.

So, if we have an elected mayor, whoever that is, they will hopefully share those goals.”

Andy Connelly: “Yes, you must really stop doing that Barbara!”

City cabinet member Sarah Russell has started a

In her first post she says that trying to fit blogging into her hectic day might prove tough, as a mother of two who juggles work and politics. I struggle to update this blog every day and all I do after work is eat Cherry Garcia ice-cream in bed while watching 30 Rock.

As a journalist I can say that of all the cabinet members I speak to on a regular basis, she’s got the best grasp of her portfolio, so her promise to explain issues to readers will be useful.

But as she’s a cabinet member she’s got to stick to the party line, so don’t expect too many juicy snippets from the inside.

If only she could encourage her rambunctious partner Andy to start blogging on local politics.

Now that would be a must-read…

Finance select committee. Ross Willmott bounds in. No tie, light pink shirt, casual trousers. Jovial lines peppered with his own giggles. It was a council scrutiny meeting, but he could have been embarking on a package cruise.

He took his seat in front of me and was soon joined by Andy Connelly, positively pink thanks to the beaming summer sunshine, and Patrick Kitterick.

The line-up looked like the back seat of a school bus – packed with the class rabble-rousers.

They were in good spirits for a trio so recently sheared of their cabinet responsibilities. Why? Because they now sit on one of the most powerful committees.

They look after the money. How on earth did the Labour whips let this one slip through the net?

Did any members want a briefing about how council finances work – an officer asked. You’d hope not, or they’re on the wrong committee.

But it was an opportunity for a Willmott boast: “The chief finance officer tells me everything he tells the cabinet anyway.” [See comments]

Hooray! They’re still in the loop. Or are they?

“You’ve got to read the Mercury to find out what’s happening at the council these days,” grumbled Kitterick. Perhaps not.

Five minutes in and the first trap had been set. Kitterick requested that Vi Dempster, cabinet member for children and schools, turn up next time around to explain some missed targets. “I second that,” said Willmott.

“It’s an ambush,” Ross Grant Tweeted.

Later on the presence of leader Veejay Patel was requested. Directors and documents were also necessary for the next meeting, they said. Chief executive Sheila Lock ended up sitting at the table to explain items. Officers were grilled. Just one item went through on the nod. No quarter was given here.

When the poor council scribe taking notes was asked to read back the committee’s shopping list of demands she mentioned that the two cabinet members would address the committee.

“I don’t want to be addressed,” said Willmott, “I want to question them.”

Will they be added to the agenda for the next meeting on July 7? No-one could say.

Chair Coley said, half-joking, that if they couldn’t then they’d have to arrange an emergency session.

“Perfect,” said Willmott, “I’ve got a lot of time on my hands these days.”

And when it’s clear that the information came from within their own group, things become even more feverish.

So when we published a story on page three of today’s Mercury, about an ongoing investigation into allegations against Andy Connelly, my mobile phone struggled to deal with the incoming calls.

“This could only have come from someone in the Labour party,” one irate member said, breathlessly.

“I know, it says that in the story,” I replied.

“Then who was it?”

“I’m sorry but I’m a journalist and I don’t reveal my sources. You’ve got a real-life episode of Cluedo on your hands now…”

Left to right: Me, Ross Willmott, Mark Bentley, Patrick Kitterick and Andy Connelly.

Right in front of the press seats, of course!

Cllrs Ross Willmott, Patrick Kitterick and Andy Connelly have settled in to the three seats at the back – the furthest they can physically be from the new cabinet, and the closest seats to the media.

To the online observer, the meeting would have looked run of the mill, but the atmosphere was charged.

Andy and Ross took up the role of Statler and Waldorf, bouncing barbs about other councillors off each other throughout the meeting. Patrick, meanwhile, filled in a Guardian crossword puzzle and a Sudoku.

The boisterous behaviour at the back eventually led Labour chief whip Barbara Potter to stride over, telling them to be quiet.

“Go away,” replied Ross dismissively, as he scrolled through his Blackberry emails, making Potter even more annoyed.

The next 12 months at city council will be intriguing.

But John Blackmore’s Twitter digs at cabinet member Andy Connelly over the closure of some council-run bars and creches were about more than just an online spat.

What they show is how power may be shifting under Veejay Patel’s party leadership.

Connelly, who along with Rory Palmer, Sarah Russell and Patrick Kitterick, is seen as part of Team Willmott in the cabinet, could be shuffled out of his top job come Tuesday.

Had his position been completely secure, it’s doubtful that a fellow Labour councillor would thumb his nose at one of the ten most powerful councillors in the city. At least not in public...

11am UPDATE: John hasn’t Tweeted a thing for more than 24 hours. Hope he hasn’t been silenced by party big cheeses.

2.30PM UPDATE: He’s Tweeting again.