Sex scandal, defection... then SNP lose council
THE SNP has lost control of North Lanarkshire Council after one of its own councillors defected to Labour.
A vote to fill the vacant post was held yesterday after former SNP council leader Jordan Linden quit amid sexual harassment allegations.
Labour regained control of the council thanks to an SNP defector, plus votes from the Conservatives and a Unionist councillor.
Mr Linden stood down last month after reports he made unwanted advances on a teenager at a flat after a Pride parade in Dundee.
In an eight-minute meeting yesterday, North Lanarkshire council ensure lors voted in favour of Labour’s Jim Logue taking charge, voting down a motion for the SNP’s Tracy Carragher – Mr Linden’s former deputy – to take on the role.
A total of 38 councillors backed the Labour amendment, while 37 voted for the SNP motion and independent councillor Alan Beveridge abstained. Michael Coyle, councillor for Airdrie South, switched from the SNP to Labour ahead of the meeting.
Mr Logue said: ‘It’s a privilege to be elected once more as leader. I am determined to lead an administration which serves all the people of North Lanarkshire, and the most important part of that is ensuring we are doing everything we can to mitigate the cost of living crisis for our residents.
‘It is essential we move fast to all the policies we can bring to bear, and all council services, are aligned to support people wherever possible.
‘Committee meetings will resume over the next week or two. This provides a huge opportunity for the council to agree policies across enterprise, growth, education and a range of other areas which achieve our ambitions and make North Lanarkshire the place to live, learn, work, invest and visit.’
Miss Carragher, the SNP group leader in North Lanarkshire, said: ‘My concern and the SNP group’s focus will be on ensuring the continued delivery of the best possible services in North Lanarkshire.’
Scottish Conservative local government spokesman Miles Briggs said: ‘The Scottish Conservatives were very clear during the local election campaign earlier this year that we were keen to work with other pro-Union parties to try to lock the SNP out of power.
‘The opportunity to do so presented itself in North Lanarkshire so the five Conservative councillors chose to vote with Labour on that basis.’
‘Mitigate the cost of living crisis’