Labour are back in control again
A minority administration is formed
The Labour party 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 re-elected to their positions at Thursday’s first post-election meeting, after their group’s 32 votes were supplemented by those of eight Conservative members, plus independent Alan Beveridge.
SNP members were outvoted 41-33 in each crucial officebearer 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 his new administration is minority rule and not a coalition, saying: “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 matter how many times I say no deal’s been done, no agreement’s been made, there are those who will never acknowledge it and will not accept it for political reasons.”
He added: “They enshrine this view that they are the largest party and with that should come control of the council. Yes, they’ve 33 councillors – there are 44 others who have the same democratic mandate. Are they really saying they shouldn’t be in a position to express their preference for the type of administration they want to see?
“If they’d got 39 [an outright majority], we wouldn’t be here today; we’d have said, ‘well done’ and I’d have been the first to shake David Stocks’ hand.”
Councillor Stocks called the new administration “a Labour-tory alliance” and accused its leader of awarding the convenership of the audit and governance panel to his Conservative counterpart in exchange for the vital votes – which Councillor Logue called “illogical”, saying: “Was it a coalition in March 2016 when I gave David Stocks a convenership?”
The SNP leader turned down an equivalent role heading the new community safety and partnership governance committee, as well as leadership by his party of two local area committees, saying: “I will take no part in working with the Tories in North Lanarkshire.
“As the largest party, we had written to Councillor Logue offering talks on a genuine left-of-centre Snp-labour joint administration; Labour lacked the courage even to acknowledge or reply to the letter.”
Conservative group leader Meghan Gallacher said: “We haven’t entered any deals with Labour. The SNP had ruled out any coalition or working relationship with us.
“We were in the position of deciding who we could perhaps work with, on a case-by-case basis, in the best interests of North Lanarkshire; a dysfunctional SNP group or a Labour group who have formed the administration in the past.”