SNP are fighting like rats in a sack

Dear Editor At the first meeting of the newly-elected North Lanarkshire Council on Thursday, there were two options which were presented to the chamber, and by extension, the people of North Lanarkshire.

Those were an SNP administration or a Labour administration, and as an independent councillor I had a responsibility to represent the people who elected me and come to a decision. This was not a time for sitting on the fence.

In February 2015 I resigned from the SNP; my reasons were the culture of bullying, fear and intimidation which existed within the party at that time, and under David Stocks I have observed no change in the way the SNP group operates in North Lanarkshire.

The SNP group also proposed to make Councillor Sophia Coyle depute provost, and for me this was a line-inthe-sand issue. That post is one which requires dignity and decorum and I believe that Councillor Coyle fails to bring those attributes to the table.

My reasons for leaving the SNP are widely known and should come as no surprise to the electorate. Bearing in mind all of the above it would be utterly hypocritical of me to support the SNP group in North Lanarkshire. Internally they are fighting like rats in a sack and I don’t see how they could be trusted to run a bath, never mind one of Scotland’s largest local authorities.

The Labour party in North Lanarkshire has also had its problems, but in Jim Logue they have a leader who was not afraid to call for an investigation into alleged corruption, and in doing so tackled the problem head on. I view the Labour group as the lesser of two evils, and for that reason used my vote to block the SNP group from taking control of North Lanarkshire Council.

For the purposes of transparency, I can confirm that in the postelection negotiations I was approached by both Labour and the SNP. Due to the toxic nature of the SNP group outlined above, I declined to talk to them.

I was offered a special responsibility allowance post by Labour which would have earned me a considerable sum of money over the next five years. I declined this offer too; I am determined to remain independent of all parties and to represent the people of Airdrie North without fear or favour, and to have accepted any such position would be presented by some as having been “bought”. I am not for sale, and no such slur can be attached to me.

The fact that the Conservatives voted in the same manner as I did is unwelcome, but given that they are running on a “stop the SNP” platform, it is not surprising.

Certain voices within the SNP have already attempted to make a link between myself and the Conservatives for voting the same way. This is clearly nonsense, and over the next five years I will demonstrate without any shadow of doubt that my views and those of the Tories have little or nothing in common.

As is customary, there was a group photo taken of the newly-elected council, and I was proud to have my picture taken, just as I am proud to have been elected to represent the people of Airdrie North.

While the three main parties play petty games of constitutional oneupmanship, I will continue to represent Airdrie North, to ensure it gets the best deal, irrespective of who runs Westminster, Holyrood or the council chamber, which is how it should be. Cllr Alan Beveridge, independent, Airdrie North

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