Powersharing pact rejected in favour of coalition

Dear Editor

What, exactly, does Labour group leader Jim Logue not understand about political rejection?

Compared to the 2012 local election, Labour’s first-preference vote in North Lanarkshire slumped from 50,019 to 36,314 last week. The SNP rose from 32,060 votes to 42,014 to become, narrowly, the biggest party on the council.

Jim Logue was rejected in what has been a Labour heartland since the 1930s.

Clinging to the powers of the town hall laird, Jim Logue rejects the sensible SNP offer of a centre-left joint administration. He prefers a Labour-Tory pact.

This means the next five council budgets will have to satisfy the 10 new Tory councillors – and we know how local government and the NHS have been hit in England.

Jim Logue has publicly admitted his dependence on Tory transfer votes to Labour – 2557 such transfers helped get 10 or more Labour members elected last week. So, make no mistake: however disguised, a Labour-Tory pact will operate.

North Lanarkshire is Scotland’s fourth-largest council. It requires stable administration for the next five hard years, as Theresa May consolidates in London.

So are there any sensible members of the Labour group willing to discuss the SNP offer to keep the Tories out? Councillor Tom Johnston, Depute leader, North Lanarkshire SNP group