SNP councillors are part of a group bidding to take control of a Scottish local authority following a row over council tax.
Argyll and Bute Council, currently run by a Tory-LibDem coalition, recently announced it would adopt the Scottish Government’s council tax freeze – a move it had previously defied by saying it would hike the tax by 10%.
We told last week how council leader Robin Currie, a LibDem councillor, said he would advocate for the freeze at a special meeting next month following a series of “positive talks” with the Government.
Now, members of the Strategic Opposition Partnership Group have lodged individual letters to request a special meeting of the council to take place on April 4.
The group is made up of 15 councillors – 12 SNP, two independent and one Labour - and has extended the open invitation for a change in leadership to any like-minded councillors.
They want to see a new provost and council leader appointed following the row over council tax and said the "debacle" came as council leaders "chose to play petty politics" instead of engaging with the Scottish Government.
Leader of the opposition and SNP councillor Jim Lynch said: “In this time of economic instability and a cost-of-living crisis, Argyll and Bute Council requires strong leadership and positive solutions, rather than the uncertainty and callous politicking we are witnessing at present.
"It is clear to us that public trust in the current administration is incredibly low. Questionable decision-making over vital local issues such as Rothesay Pavilion, Luing Primary School, The Mull Campus, and the ongoing council tax debacle has caused real damage in our communities, which we simply must work hard to repair.
"Too much time has already been wasted, and we need to get on with backing the Scottish Government’s council tax freeze and sending the reduced bills out to households.”
Also commenting, depute leader of the opposition, independent councillor Dougie Philand said: “The time has come for accountability, transparency, and a new way forward at Argyll and Bute Council. The public has quite rightly had enough of the status quo.
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"For far too long the ruling group of councillors has been able to play political football with the important decisions that impact the daily lives of our constituents, and this must be stopped.
"We hope that by providing every councillor with an opportunity to add their signature alongside ours to call for a change in leadership, we will finally be able to bring an end to the political chaos we have seen in recent years and ensure that nothing like the council tax shambles can happen again.”
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