Labour looks autocratic

Sir, - Is Scottish Labour right to place an embargo on coalition deals with the Conservatives in councils up and

down the land? I can understand Fife Conservative leader Dave Dempsey’s frustration on what he sees as his party’s exclusion from the decisionmaking structures at Fife House.

He must be equally puzzled at the ease with which a Labour-SNP deal has been finalised at Fife House in the light of the corrosive lack of trust between the two parties over the last two decades.

But he may yet have some fun at the expense of leaders David Ross and David Alexander who may become the local authority equivalent of the Chuckle Brothers, a reference to the working relationship of Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness in Northern Ireland.

Scottish Labour managed to look not just divided but autocratic by suspending its councillors who entered into a coalition deal with the Conservatives in Aberdeen.

If the two parties were able to get agreement on a common, workable programme that would benefit the citizens of the Granite City, then surely it should have been allowed to go ahead.

Simply branding every Conservative councillor in the country as harsh, unfeeling and remote is simply inaccurate.

It spoils the chance of tapping into experience and expertise that can help solve a host of problems.

Kezia Dugdale and Alex Rowley’s action on their Aberdeen councillors was made in the light of a pending general election.

It has done nothing to enhance the voters’ trust in the way local government works.

Bob Taylor. 24 Shiel Court, Glenrothes.

Scottish Labour managed to look not just divided but autocratic by suspending its councillors who entered into a coalition deal with the Conservatives in Aberdeen