The Tories have flexed their new found political muscle on Oxfordshire County Council by filling key scrutiny posts with Conservative councillors.

The move has sparked an outcry at County Hall because all the policy-making executive posts will be given to Tory councillors.

With the party chairing important scrutiny committees, it effectively means the Conservatives will scrutinise their own decisions.

Labour group leader Liz Brighouse has dubbed council leader Keith Mitchell "Kaiser Keith" while other opposition groups have complained the situation is "profoundly undemocratic".

Keith Mitchell Mr Mitchell's blue sea change comes less than a week after the Tories won a landslide victory in the county elections, seeing 43 out of a possible 74 councillors elected.

Until May 6, the authority was run by a Conservative-Liberal Democrat alliance, but the Conservatives now have total control for the first time in 20 years. Mr Mitchell confirmed all portfolio positions would go to Conservative councillors, with no room at the table for the 17 Liberal Democrat, nine Labour or five Green members.

Mrs Brighouse said: "Perhaps we should now refer to Mr Mitchell as Kaiser Keith because what we have is a one-party state with the Tories running everything -- including the scrutiny process, which is meant to be apolitical."

As the single biggest party, the Conservatives are entitled to fill the executive with Tory councillors, but guidance from the Government says scrutiny committees should be chaired by members of different political parties.

In addition the Tories -- who did not return a single councillor in any of the eight Oxford city wards -- are planning to fill positions on health and police representative groups.

Mr Mitchell said: "There are 43 members of our group -- 33 will scrutinise the decisions of 10. Scrutiny committees will be cross-party and will be proportional to the council."