THE former leader of Bradford Council is having to write his first CV in years as he starts to think about getting a new job.

Councillor David Green was ousted by his group on Monday, when Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe secured the backing of a majority of Labour councillors in a ballot.

Yesterday, he broke his silence over what he dubbed a "funny old week", from success in the local elections on Friday to losing his job three days later.

Cllr Hinchcliffe had said earlier this week that Cllr Green's four-year tenure as leader had been up, and she had put forward a new vision for how the council and district could look in future.

But when Cllr Green was asked whether he thought other factors had been at play when people voted him out, he said: "I have my views."

Labour locally has faced a turbulent few months, from MP Naz Shah's well-publicised fight to clear Bradford West of Biraderi 'clan' politics to the national anti-Semitism row which saw Councillors Khadim Hussain and Mohammad Shabbir suspended from the party, along with Ms Shah.

Labour sources also speak of a growing discontentment with the district's lack of progress on education.

When Cllr Green was asked whether he thought any of these issues were a factor in him losing his job, he said: "I don't know. Some or all of that may be the case.

"The bottom line is that I would say that I played a straight bat over the last four years.

"I have always had the district and the party at the top of my agenda. That led to some tension."

Cllr Green said he did not want to say anything that harmed the council or its Labour administration, but said he would happily stand behind the decisions he had taken as leader.

He said: "I think that if you don't do what you believe, in principle, is right, then you can't defend it and I will happily, if anybody wants to challenge any of the decisions I have made, admit if I have made a mistake but also defend the overwhelming majority of my decisions, both internally within the party and for the district.

"What I would say is that I would hope that Susan's first six months in office are not going to be as difficult as mine were."

Cllr Green said in his four years as leader, he had found himself dealing with a serious case review into the death of Hamzah Khan, the four-year-old starved to death by his mother, Amanda Hutton, as well as the scandal involving then-Co-op chairman and former Bradford councillor, Paul Flowers.

He then faced the loss of "good councillors, to be honest" in dramatic shake-up by the party's regional office in the wake of Labour losing the Bradford West by-election in 2012 - all issues, he said, that stemmed from events pre-dating his time as leader.

He said: "What I would say is, there's nothing I can think of that should come as a surprise to anybody over the next six months and I think basically that is because I have played with a straight bat according to the rules."

Cllr Green said he had not had any indication either way about whether he would be offered a seat on the council's decision-making executive, but stressed that it was a decision for Cllr Hinchcliffe to make.

He said: "She needs to appoint people she can work with and who can deliver, so it is a matter and a choice for her."

In the meantime, he said, he was concentrating on his role as councillor for Wibsey as well as starting to think about getting another job.

He said: "I have got to write a CV first - I haven't written one of those for years and it will be interesting to see how employable I am.

"Clearly I have got experience and skills which some people might be able to use."

Cllr Green said he would even consider working behind a bar or in a shop for the time being.

He said: "I have worked behind bars, I have worked on building sites. If I need to identify a way of earning some pennies, I am more than happy to do

whatever.

"Not for the rest of my life, but if I have got to find a way of earning some money, what's wrong with working behind a bar or in a shop, or in an office, or whatever?"

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Cllr Green said he was "honoured" to have led the council, speaking of his pride at the opening of The Broadway shopping centre, the regeneration of the city centre and the Get Bradford Working jobs programme, among other projects.

But he acknowledged the authority still faced serious challenges.

He said: "There are some real challenges ahead and things that we didn't manage to make the necessary progress over the last four years, that we need to.

"It's not just about the economy, it's about education, social care, health and housing, all these things.

"We made progress on some of them and didn't make enough progress on others."

Cllr Hinchcliffe said: "Cllr Green has steered the district well through some exceptionally difficult times.

"He completed his four year term but the Labour group decided to vote for me to lead us over this next cycle.

"The cuts from central Government are going to mean that councils will look very different in the future, I’m honoured that the Labour group has put their faith in me to lead on that challenge."