It’s no deal as parties clash over spending
Future of council still undecided after crunch talks stall
Talks between the SNP and Labour over the future running of Renfrewshire Council appear to have broken down.
Councillors will gather for a summit today to decide what form the local authority administration will take after neither party gained enough seats for a full majority.
The SNP and Labour had held talks over a potential agreement, but it is understood that no deal could be reached.
The new Labour group leader at the local authority, Eddie Devine, says the parties are clashing over spending priorities.
He said: “We are keen to ensure that the council runs as smoothly as possible and we have therefore engaged in discussions with other political groups to achieve this aim.
“We made it clear to the SNP group leadership that we would not enter into any arrangement which would have an austerity agenda and one that would not protect services to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.
“Unfortunately, there are wide variations in the respective priorities of the SNP and ourselves.
Mr Devine, who represents the Paisley South East ward, claims the SNP failed to make a commitment to protect spending on public services.
He added: “The Labour administration of the last five years protected and increased education and social work services and we sought guarantees that these services would continue to be protected. Sadly, these guarantees were not forthcoming.
“We will continue to fight to protect services and any cuts and will support policies which are in the best interests of the people of Renfrewshire.”
The SNP won 19 seats, Labour secured 13 and the Conservatives took eight. Two independents and a sole Liberal Democrat make up the 43 councillors following the recent polls.
Renfrewshire SNP insists talks are still ongoing about the future of the council.
Group leader Iain Nicolson, said: “We have had discussions with all the political parties about how we can make sure the council is stable and runs smoothly for the people of Renfrewshire.
“These discussions are ongoing, but there are a number of different scenarios that could play out given the arithmetic involved.
“But we want to make sure that the council continues to run as it should and that is our priority.”
Councillors will meet at Renfrewshire House today, with the new leader and deputy leader expected to be elected, along with the conveners of the boards and committees.
The council is also required to appoint various members to outside agencies as representatives for the local authority.
It’s understood that some of the discussions held by the parties was in relation to these key appointments.
Meanwhile, Councillor Nicolson has said his party might reconsider commitments to the £ 1.3billion City Deal infrastructure project that the previous Labour administration signed up to.
He said: “We need to examine how far along the deal has gone. If the contracts have been signed, then there might not be much we can do, but we certainly want to look at it again.”