Blood on the town hall carpet will be pure red

Labour ‘faces rout’... and may not control a SINGLE council

THE Labour Party faces being wiped out during next month’s council elections amid surging support for the Conservatives, according to a leading political scientist.

John Curtice, Professor of Politics at Strathclyde University, believes Labour may fail to secure overall control of a single Scottish council for the first time in more than 40 years, with the SNP and Conservatives poised to make significant gains across the country.

Scotland will elect councillors to represent 353 wards across all 32 of its local authorities on May 4.

Labour insiders say the party is braced for a disappointment as polls suggest it could pick up as little as 14 per cent of the overall vote.

The party has controlled many local authorities since regional and district councils were established north of the Border in 1975. But recent polls published by Ipsos Mori and Panelbase suggest Labour will be beaten into a distant third place by the Tories, whose support is expected to increase to as much as 26 per cent.

The SNP is predicted to dominate next month’s ballot with between 42 and 47 per cent of the vote.

Professor Curtice said: ‘It looks like Labour is going to do very badly and may end up losing control of the councils it is currently in overall control of. It looks like the SNP will gain, the Conservatives will gain, but Labour will crash.’

At present Labour runs majority administrations in West Dunbartonshire, South Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and Glasgow.

Professor Curtice also predicted that many local authorities will continue to be run by minority administrations following the May 4 vote.

He said: ‘The SNP will do well, but it’s really just a question of how well.

‘Could they take control of Glasgow? They may well end up being the largest party, but may not be able to take overall control.’

He added: ‘I can’t see the Conservatives doing many deals with the SNP, nor Labour. So I think there will be a number of minority administrations.’

Professor Curtice also believes the Conservatives stand a realistic chance of gaining control of South Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire councils.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson described the forthcoming elections as a chance for everyone who voted No in the 2014 independence referendum ‘to tell Nicola Sturgeon to get back to the job in hand’.

Writing in today’s Scottish Mail on Sunday, Miss Davidson says: ‘Last week, Nicola Sturgeon enjoyed her moment in the limelight by writing a letter to the Prime Minister demanding a second referendum, posing for cameras as she did so.

‘But with a mark on the ballot paper next month, we can send Ms Sturgeon a letter of our own.’

Labour echoed Miss Davidson’s call to use the council elections to reject the SNP’s prospectus for a second independence referendum.

Alex Rowley MSP, the party’s local elections campaign manager, said: ‘At the local government elections, voters have an opportunity to send Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP a message that Scotland doesn’t want another referendum.

‘Instead, she should be focused on the job of governing – getting our schools back on track, stopping closures to our NHS services and working to get more jobs into our communities.’ the

‘SNP may end up unable to take overall control’

‘Conservatives will gain but Labour will crash’