A NEW council leader will almost certainly be elected tomorrow following a hectic week of secret negotiations to solve Redbridge's political crisis, the borough's Tory chief has said.

Last Thursday the council was plunged into disarray when Conservative head Cllr Keith Prince lost a vote to become new council leader, just minutes after his Tory colleague Cllr Alan Weinberg left the post.

Two Conservative councillors defected from the party, another resigned and two failed to show up due to illness, leaving the authority without a leader.

But Cllr Prince told the Guardian this morning he was "confident" a deal will be reached by the time of tomorrow's council meeting.

He added: "Negotiations are at a delicate stage. We're still talking but I'm comfortable."

Cllr Prince has been meeting with the borough's Labour Party leader Cllr Elaine Norman and Lib Dem leader High Cleaver, but has refused to reveal further details at this stage.

Cllr Prince added he had met with his two Conservative colleagues, Cllr Brian Waite and Cllr Glenn Corfield, who failed to attend the meeting last week.

He said: "I’m confident they were genuinely ill, one has even shown me a doctor’s note.

“In the long run I think what's happened has been a good thing. It’s shown that a few very selfish people put themselves before the party. And I’ve got rid of someone who I never wanted anyway.”