A Boscombe councillor who left the Conservatives in a row over the proposed closure of Townsend School maintains that he was expelled rather than leaving voluntarily.
Former army sergeant major, Cllr Michael Everingham, also claims that his dismissal - for apparently refusing to adhere to a party whip supporting the closure of the school - contravened Conservative Party rules.
"I can't adhere to whips because it's not democratic," said the newly independent Cllr Everingham, "I was pushed, despite what the leader of the Conservatives has said."
Cllr Everingham says he should have been summonsed before local Conservatives for an internal meeting, rather than being told over the phone by the party leader that he would no longer be a member.
“If I had appeared before the group they could have all had their say, and it might have meant that if I don’t adhere to future whips I’m no longer a member.
“None of that sort of thing took place so he didn’t adhere to the rules and regulations of the Conservative Party.”
But Tory leader Cllr Stephen MacLoughlin claims that Cllr Everingham knew he was expected to vote in line with the party.
"He flouted that," said Cllr MacLoughlin, "he deliberately and consciously voted the other way."
"For all intents and purposes he resigned."
Councillors Michael Weinhonig, David Shaw and John Trickett – who represent the ward where Townsend is located – were the only Tories to publicly oppose the closure.
Some Townsend protestors claimed this move was politically motivated, but speaking on the night the council finally passed the closure, Cllr Weinhonig said: “I’m glad to say that the Conservatives have given me the freedom to do absolutely everything I possibly can to try and save the school.”
Yet at least one Conservative councillor is believed to have missed the final vote in a deliberate move to save their Tory skin, after being disciplined for speaking out against the closure.