DEALS and arrangements between Labour and Conservatives across the country have seen the SNP kept out of the administrations of local authorities.
In Edinburgh, Scotland’s second-largest council, confusion reigned after a putative deal between the SNP, which has the largest number of seats at 19, and Labour groups failed to materialise in time for yesterday’s council meeting.
The National understands that the Capital Coalition of the two parties which has run the council for the past five years will come together again after the General Election principally because Labour’s National Executive Committee does not want to be seen to sanction a deal with the SNP in such an important authority ahead of an election in which nationally they are opposed to the SNP.
The SNP wanted to fill Edinburgh’s committee convenerships yesterday, but decided instead to wait until after June 8, as it was clear that Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Greens would all vote together to block any power-sharing arrangement for the moment.
The Conservative Group had proposed an all-party “executive committee” of four SNP, four Tory, two Labour, two Green and one LibDem councillor to form an interim administration. In a highly unusual move, the council voted 43-17 to leave vacant the convenerships of all but two committees, planning and licensing, and the chair of the health and social care joint board, which all have statutory responsibilities.
There is growing anger in North Lanarkshire over Labour’s “no deal” with the Conservatives which saw the SNP, the council’s largest party, refused the administration. Instead the Conservatives voted for Labour’s nominees, both parties denying that there was any deal.
SNP group leader Davis Stocks said yesterday: “I will take no part in working with the Tories in North Lanarkshire. As the largest party, we wrote to Councillor Logue offering talks on an SNP-Labour joint administration. They lacked the courage even to reply. Now Labour have a deal with the Tories.
“We’re disappointed that despite winning the election, we’re not going to be involved in what we would like to have been. People ask why we’re not in power.”
In South Lanarkshire both the SNP and Labour Groups have been hit by resignations. The SNP group has formed a minority administration but two senior East Kilbride councillors, husband and wife Jim and Sheena Wardhaugh, have resigned from the group and will sit as independents. They said they were unhappy with the direction the council was going in.
A spokesman for the SNP group said: “It is worth noting that both councillors were elected on a progressive manifesto only a few weeks ago and their constituents will expect them to work closely with the administration to ensure their election promises are implemented.”
The Labour Group has also lost two members, Joe Lowe of Hamilton South and Margaret Cooper of Avondale and Stonehouse.
New council leader John Ross of the SNP said: “The SNP will never do a deal with the Tories.
“We disagree with them fundamentally. No SNP administration or political group in Scotland has attempted to form a coalition with the Tories.
“There will undoubtedly be challenges over the next five years – but the SNP are up to the task.”
The new SNP minority administration of East Dunbartonshire Council has run into trouble at the first time of asking – over a set of traffic lights.
At the first meeting of the new council, an SNP motion that would have restored traffic lights in Kirkintilloch Town Centre was voted down by the six Tory and six Liberal Democrat councillors voting together.
On Moray Council, the Conservative group of eight councillors has joined with six independents to form the administration despite the SNP being the largest group with nine councillors.
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