SNP seizes control of Dundee council for the first time

Published on Monday 30 March 2009 22:47

THE SNP last night seized control of Scotland's fourth-largest city for the first time in the party's history.

The vote in Dundee City Chambers, made possible with the aid of the Labour rebel John Letford, the Lord Provost, marked the end of almost 30 years of Labour dominance in the city.

Mr Letford, who last week quit the ruling Labour group to stand as an independent, voted with the 14-strong SNP group at the special meeting of the full council to give the Nationalists the 15 votes they needed to wrest control of the 29-seat council from the ruling Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition.

Last night's vote also means that the SNP now has a share of power in three of Scotland's four major cities. The party is already part of the ruling coalitions in Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Mr Letford will remain as civic head of Dundee as part of the new administration.

At the start of the meeting Ian Borthwick, the depute Lord Provost, called for any decision to be deferred for 48 hours to allow discussions to be held with a view to forming an all-party administration.

He said the economic uncertainties called for councillors from all parties to work together for the good of the city. He said: "I believe the gravity of the situation facing this city justifies fresh thinking."

His motion was supported by the Labour, Lib Dem and Conservative groups but Ken Guild, the leader of the SNP group, rejected the proposal. He said: "Nothing useful would come from this. We think we have a strong and unified team with a distinct focus and distinct sense of purpose."

The motion was defeated by 15 votes to 14. The SNP group's motion to appoint SNP conveners to the main committees was then passed by 15 votes to ten with the three Tory councillors and Mr Borthwick abstaining.

The SNP group began its bid to secure control of the city council earlier this month after the party's candidate, Craig Melville, won the by-election for the city's Maryfield ward. The seat had been made vacant by the resignation of the Labour councillor Joe Morrow.

The party's victory gave the SNP 14 seats on the council, leaving Labour with nine, the Conservatives three, and the Liberal Democrats two councillors, together with one independent councillor, Mr Borthwick.

The SNP announced that it was planning to meet with both Mr Borthwick and the Tories in an attempt to secure the vital single vote the group required to take control of the council.

But last week, Mr Letford announced that he had quit the Labour group to stand as an independent and allow the SNP, as the largest single group on the council, to run the administration.

Mr Letford angrily refuted claims that an agreement with the SNP to allow him to remain as civic head had influenced his decision to become an independent after 15 years as a Labour councillor in the city.

The Lord Provost, who receives a salary of 23,000 as civic head, then went on the offensive after Jim McGovern, the Labour MP for Dundee West, issued a statement in which he accused him of putting the status and "financial considerations" that came with the chain of office ahead of his principles.

Mr Letford claimed that he had been approached by Mr Keenan and offered an OBE for standing down from his post two years early to allow Mr Borthwick, his depute, to become the new civic head – a claim that was strenuously denied by Mr Keenan.