THE HOLDERS of the balance of power in York's new hung council today refused to commit to saving the city's swimming pools.

Conservative leader John Galvin said he would not confirm if the group would join Liberal Democrats to safeguard the future of Yearsley and the Barbican pools - threatened with closure by the leading Labour group.

Liberal Democrat leader Steve Galloway urged the Conservatives to join his party to ensure the pools remained open following the Bootham by-election - which ended Labour's majority in City of York Council.

But Councillor Galvin said: "I am not going to comment on that at the moment. There is a lot of sitting down and talking that needs to be done before we make any decisions.

"I am not ruling it in, and I am not ruling it out. I am not prepared to show my hand on it at the moment.

"The Conservatives do hold the balance of power and nobody can take us for granted. We will be taking a long, hard look at each proposal and making our decisions on a single issue basis."

He said he would want to see the results of a public consultation on the issue, started by the Labour group.

Coun Galloway's comment came as he celebrated the victory of Liberal Democrat Kim Tarry in the Bootham by-election.

It followed a campaign by Conservative candidate Bill Bennett in the by-election which focused in part on the pools.

Mr Bennett said: "I would never, ever close a swimming baths in York, no matter what the cost."

The council now has 25 Labour members, 23 Liberal Democrats, three Conservatives and one Independent.

Another by-election will be held on Thursday in Monk ward.

If opposition members united, they could defeat Labour in the council.

Coun Galloway said: "We have made our views 100 per cent clear on the future of the two pools, and we will do whatever is necessary to ensure Yearsley and the Barbican are freed from the threat of closure.

"Mr Bennett said specifically in his campaign that he would oppose any closure, and we assume that is official Conservative policy now.

"The three parties are going to have to talk and see where we can get common ground, and hopefully the pools can be one of those areas. If that is not possible, then certainly we would seek support from the Conservatives to beat Labour in the council."

Yearsley pool campaigner Fiona Evans said: "My feeling is that the Bootham by-election reflected clearly the public's dissatisfaction with recent proposals, and swimming pools featured strongly in the campaign.

"I think it's a message to listen to the people of York, and I hope that all groups can reinforce that message and support what the public want - which is to keep the pools open."