FURY AT LABOUR POWER SURGE

Nats accuse Logue of pact with Tories

Labour controversially held on to power in North Lanarkshire by securing support to form a minority administration – ahead of the SNP, the council’s largest party.

Leader Jim Logue and deputy Paul Kelly were reelected to their positions at Thursday’s first postelection meeting after their group’s 32 votes were supplemented by those of the eight Conservative members present, plus Airdrie independent Alan Beveridge.

SNP members were outvoted 41- 33 in each crucial office-bearer ballot – for provost, council leader and both deputes – with their leader, David Stocks, describing the decision as “quite clearly a Labour and Tory stitch-up”.

Councillor Logue insists that his new administration is minority rule and not a coalition with any other group, telling the Advertiser: “I haven’t entered into any deals of any shape, formal or loose, or any other type of arrangement with any party.

“At no time did we attempt to form a coalition, pact or agreement. I have never asked the Conservatives for support and I haven’t sought any coalition with either party. No deal’s been done, no agreement made.

“I have nothing whatsoever in common with the Conservative Party at a national level for some of the outrageous policies that have been introduced since I became a councillor in 1977. However, [their] group are absolutely entitled to express their view.”

The Airdrie Central councillor said an SNP coalition had been ruled out because “nationally, over the last 10 years £150 million has been taken out of North Lanarkshire by the SNP government, and locally, I have never known a more factionalised body than the current SNP group”.

He said of the largest group, who fell six seats short of an outright