Pressure to introduce far-reaching changes in Wirral Council comes to head tonight.

When all 66 members gather for a meeting of the full council, they will be faced with two calls for a major shake-up of the way the borough is governed.

The first is a "notice of motion" from Conservatives demanding the removal of the Labour adminstration's leader Cllr Steve Foulkes.

Now Liberal Democrats have added fuel to the flames by putting forward their own notice demanding the so-called "Strong Leader" single-party cabinet is consigned to history in favour of a new, more inclusive arrangement.

The unprecedented desire for change has been created by a recently-published report which condemned the culture and ethics of the council.

The £250,000 review, by independent consultant Anna Klonowski, concluded the town hall had become more concerned with its own "bureaucratic machinations" than the interests and rights of the people of Wirral.

It said this has led to a "corrosive, inward-looking culture."

Council chief executive Jim Wilkie admitted the findings represent the biggest challenge the authority is facing.

The probe was commissioned in February by the then leader of the council, Conservative chief Jeff Green, after former social services manager Martin Morton blew the whistle over a "special charging policy" in care homes.

The scandal, first exposed exclusively in the Globe in 2008, eventually led to the authority admitting it had "ripped off" vulnerable residents and repaying them more than £250,000 in charges it should never have collected.

On Monday, the council will be obliged to respond to both notices of motion demanding change at the top.

Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Tom Harney will address the meeting saying he believes a “business as usual approach” will simply not do and that a radical and politically brave solution is needed.

Councillors will vote on the notice saying they have: "No confidence in the 'Strong Leader Model' of governance to navigate Wirral Council through this unprecedented period of challenge or to bring the necessary correction to existing cultural, structural and financial problems."

It goes on to call for all three parties to work in unity "for the sake of the Wirral residents, businesses, employees of the council and its reputation."

Liberal Democrats, as the smallest group, would require backing from Tories if their proposal is to be carried.

And the balance of power within the council means the Conservative call for the removal of Cllr Foulkes would require support from Lib Dems.

Councillor Foulkes said last week he had tried to arrange meetings with the other group leaders to develop an all-party strategy to tackle issues raised by the independent report.

He had written to both Cllr Green and Cllr Harney to discuss the best way forward – and Cllr Green failed to reply.

He said: “He chose instead to reject the opportunity to move the council forward in favour of the sterile oppositional politics which had contributed to the problems we see now.

“His cheap attempt to overturn one of the key recommendations of the report - written by someone he himself appointed - in favour of an attempt to bribe the Liberal Democrats back into what in reality would be a coalition they had previously rejected, is frankly beneath contempt.

“The legislation is not even in place yet to allow a return to the old committee system, and this has nothing whatever to do with the real issues outlined in the report which he is refusing to address honestly.”