Passed – by 7 votes

Members of the new Independent Alliance party were accused by council leader Jim Logue of“indulging in the biggest political huff I’ve seen”after a majority of them voted against the administration’s budget.

The former Labour members lent their support to the SNP’s budget and smaller proposed rent increase.

Alliance member Jim Brooks, of Coatbridge South, said he had done so preferring the SNP’s “concept of spreading the cash more fairly”, and insisted each of their 10 members voted as individuals.

The Independents’ votes meant that the minority administration’s budget narrowly passed by 33 votes to 26.

Councillor Logue said: “I’m disgusted. They claimed setting up as independents would give greater flexibility to represent constituents but there wasn’t one contribution to influence the budget – have they no views on priorities?

“I’d at least expected that they would have put in an amendment, which they were challenged to do, but they sat on their hands. It’s a bizarre development that they merely sided with the SNP. Are they just indulging in personal grievances against the administration?”

Councillor Brooks added that his group did not propose their own budget due to not being part of the cross-party “sounding board”.

He said:“The most important thing to us was community alarms. It’s the worst action this council has made and had to go, and we made that case.

“I felt the SNP spread the cash more fairly and they were more aware of the needs of people – and I accept rent should go up but not by three per cent, because the council has to impose as little as possible.”