THE boss of City of York Council Cllr Ian Gillies has appointed three new councillors to top jobs.

The city council’s ruling executive is split between Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors, and the Tory side has now seen a “clean sweep” with three brand new members named.

Conservative Ian Gillies was confirmed as council leader at a special council meeting last week, and has now named the three other Tory members who will sit on the ruling committee.

Cllr Peter Dew will be in charge of transport and planning; Cllr Keith Myers is taking responsbility for education, children and young people; and Cllr Helen Douglas will have the portfolio for housing and safer neighbourhoods.

Both Cllrs Dew and Myers became councillors at the last election in 2015, while Cllr Douglas was a Labour councillor until September 2014 when she switched sides to the Conservatives.

The make up of the Conservatives’ side of the ruling executive has been unsure since a chaotic full council meeting in late February - when two members dramatically resigns and Cllr Gillies fail to get enough support to be named leader.

He now says he has stuck to a pledge to wait until his position was confirmed before filling other jobs.

He said: “I have now consulted members of our group over the weekend and I am pleased to announce a fresh team who are eager to move forward and work with our joint administration partners to do the best we can for the residents of York."

A row has engulfed the joint executive since late January, when education member Stuart Rawlings was sacked by the then leader Cllr David Carr over a conflict of interest fear. Sam Lisle then stood down from the housing post, and soon after Cllr Carr was ousted by his party colleagues.

That was followed by the full council meeting in February, when Cllr Carr and fellow Conservative Suzie Mercer - who had taken on the education job after Cllr Rawlings - resigned claiming factionalism and betrayal from their party colleagues.

Last week it was confirmed that suspended Liberal Democrats Keith Aspden and Nigel Ayre were making a dramatic return to the executive - six months after they were also suspended by Cllr Carr.