THE Deputy Mayor of Worcester is quitting politics next year - snubbing the chance to become the city's first citizen.

Councillor Mike Whitehouse, who was elected to Claines in 2012 for the first time, has decided to stand down at May's elections.

Under a long-established tradition Worcester City Council normally selects its new mayor every year by voting in the previous deputy, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

But Councillor Whitehouse has already decided to call it quits, mainly due to work reasons - he owns a flourishing IT support business - and after revealing he's become frustrated with local politics.

It means next May once Councillor Roger Knight has to hand over the chains as the Mayor of Worcester, the city will need to look for a new candidate.

Councillor Whitehouse, a Conservative, said: "I have found it a little frustrating - if you're not in the cabinet there's not much influence you can have.

"Most of the issues in Claines are county council-related like parking and roads, and unfortunately I can't do anything but end up being a conduit to Sue (Askin, the area's Lib Dem Claines councillor).

"So there is an element of frustration. Particularly on planning, it's all set down from Westminster and all the planning committee seems to do is tick boxes.

"My business has very happily become more and more demanding and largely because of that, I just feel I can't do this anymore.

"You end up being a jack of all trades and a master of none, it's no coincidence that most of the really good councillors are the ones able to do it full time."

He's also described his current role as deputy mayor as "brilliant".

"I never tried to become the Deputy Mayor of Worcester just to become the mayor, I did it because we needed someone to step in and help," he said.

"It's brilliant, it does show you a side to the city you've never seen before, there's a lot of stuff in Worcester that goes under the radar.

"It's a great experience and it took me a long time to get elected, I put my heart and soul into it and got there through sheer hard work."

The move will spark a new battle in Claines, where the Conservatives have triumphed in the last three district elections to leave the Liberal Democrats without a single city councillor after some fierce contests.

Councillor Whitehouse won his seat by just 65 votes in 2012, polling 1,182 on a hefty 40 per cent turnout.

The last person to turn down chance to become mayor after spending 12 months as deputy was Keith Burton in 2011, leading to David Tibbutt taking the chains.

In May last year Councillor Paul Denham was in line to take the chains after completing a year as deputy, only for Alan Amos to quit Labour and join the Conservatives, who then made him the mayor instead.

But apart from that controversies over the role have been few and far between.