THE SNP have taken control of Stirling Council from Scottish Labour.
It comes after the SNP won their tenth seat on the local authority in a by-election earlier in November, with 18-year-old Josh Fyvie replacing a Tory member in Stirling East.
The victory meant that the SNP were able to strike a deal with Stirling Council’s sole Green and sole independent councillors to control a majority of votes: 12 out of 23.
Labour, who have just four Stirling councillors, had previously run the council as a minority administration thanks to the support of the Conservatives, who have seven councillors.
The SNP said the takeover marks “the first time since 2008 that all three local authorities in Forth Valley have been run by the SNP – and the first time all three have been led by women”.
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Susan McGill, the SNP councillor for Stirling North and the local authority’s new leader, said: “It’s a real privilege to lead Stirling Council – we ask only to serve, and the real work starts now.
“We’ve got just 18 months before the next council election to prove the SNP can govern Stirling, and govern Stirling well.
“This SNP administration will be one that delivers for residents across Stirling Council, and that work starts today.”
SNP councillor Rosemary Fraser is set to become the Lord Provost, despite previous reports that the Greens were aiming for the position for their councillor Alasdair Tollemache in return for his vote.
Instead, Tollemache will serve in the administration as Stirling Council's environment and transport convener and spokesperson.
He said: "With Scottish Greens in administration for the first time, I am determined to work on cutting locals' bills through public ownership of buses, community-owned renewables, and the introduction of robust rent controls.
“We are facing a climate emergency, that's why, as convenor of the Environment, Transport and Net Zero Committee, I will support action to cut Stirling’s carbon emissions by supporting local nature restoration projects and an expansion of our active travel network, to allow commuters to leave the car at home.
“I look forward to working to build a fairer, greener Stirlingshire as part of this new administration.”
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The next local Scottish elections are scheduled to take place in May 2027. Before the 2022 elections, Stirling had been run by an SNP-Labour coalition. However, this came to an end after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said his party would no longer strike deals with the SNP.
After news emerged that Labour would use Tory votes to control the council, the SNP accused the party of striking a "grubby deal".
Scott Farmer, then the SNP group leader, said Labour had "shun[ned] a progressive partnership with the SNP and instead pursue[d] a weak and unstable minority administration with backing from the Tories".
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