West Dunbartonshire council set for 'special meeting' over future after Labour quit administration

West Dunbartonshire’s SNP councillors are still considering their next steps as Labour demands the new Provost call a “special council meeting” to determine the future of the council.

For the first time since the nine councillors stood down and resigned from all their senior positions the group’s leader and depute leader have spoken out on the decision with councillor Michelle McGinty accusing opposition councillors of collaborating and “creating a new political allegiance”.

As of Thursday, September 12, all Labour councillors have formally stepped down from their political leadership and have requisitioned a special council meeting to decide the future and direction of the council.

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The requisition has been signed by the nine remaining Labour councillors and asks the Provost to call a special council meeting, to discuss the matter, which must be called within 14 days of receipt and excludes Sundays and public holidays.

This means the meeting is likely to be held before Tuesday October 1 and on Tuesday, September 17 at the earliest.

Commenting on the decision to call a Special Council Meeting, Labour group leader Councillor Martin Rooney said: “Our communities elected each of us to serve and we remain committed to delivering for our residents.

"We have high ambition for the people here and promise to deliver for them in the most challenging of financial times.

“However our opponents must stop playing games and instead focus on delivering for our constituents.

“We will always put the interests of the people of West Dunbartonshire first and it is vital that we don’t allow the uncertainty over the political direction of the council to continue.”

Labour's Deputy Leader Councillor Michelle McGinty added: “It was clear at the council meeting in August that all opposition councillors had collaborated to elect a new Provost, SNP Councillor Karen Murray Conaghan.

“The Provost's role as chair of Council is critical to any administration in West Dunbartonshire and voting at the meeting pointed to a new political alliance between SNP, independents and the Community Party.

“It is clear that while this was designed to disrupt the Council, it is now up to the SNP Alliance to come forward with their plans to form an administration and remove the uncertainty.

“We have already demonstrated that we are capable of delivering for the people of West Dunbartonshire. However, the basis of our success was having an overall majority which gave us a stable administration, so that we could face the funding challenges head on.”

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But it is still not clear how West Dunbartonshire Council will operate and who will take charge.

In recent days, a member of West Dunbartonshire’s Community Party contacted COSLA to ask what happens if no administration takes control.

When contacted by the Local Democracy Reporting service, COSLA said this was a “local matter” for councillors to resolve.

Meanwhile the SNP’s new group leader councillor Gordon Scanlon is reassuring residents that his group are committed to working on behalf of the people across West Dunbartonshire and will stand up for their communities.

Councillor Scanlon said: “’The decision of the Labour group to resign the administration was an abdication of responsibility and a vote of no confidence in their own agenda to govern.

“Be under no illusion, the Labour group still has the most councillors both at full council and every committee to pass their agenda.

“The SNP group are committed to working for the people of Clydebank, Dumbarton and the Vale and will continue to stand up for our communities despite being significantly short handed in terms of numbers at every council and committee meeting.

“Lastly, this news came at the same meeting in which the public discovered a 5.5 million pound “unforeseen” overspend by WDC under the watch of the Labour administration which will significantly impact the coming budget in March and will inflict further pain on our communities.

“The SNP group are considering our options on how best to hold this unacceptable oversight to account and find a path forward.’’

Provost Karen Murray Conaghan has been approached for comment.

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