Labour clings on to power in Glasgow by one-vote margin

THE internal strife that has rocked Glasgow City Council’s Labour group escalated yesterday, when the party was hit by more resignations.

The day after the ruling Labour group only just avoided the humiliation of having its budget rejected, two more rebel councillors indicated they would be quitting the party.

A total of six Labour councillors have now said they intend to quit in the aftermath of a budget vote that was almost hijacked by the mini-rebellion.

Yesterday, it emerged that Andy Muir and Ruth Black want to leave the party. Labour has yet to receive official notification of their departures, but once they go, it will bring the total number of resignations over the past few days to six.

Labour was at pains to point out that all six had already been de-selected by the party, ahead of May’s council elections.

All six voted against the budget, a move that resulted in them being suspended instantly for disobeying the Labour whip. Their stance resulted in the budget only just squeezing through by 40 votes to 38 – an incredibly tight vote given the past domination of Labour in Scotland’s largest local authority.

The string of resignations means Labour’s grip on power is looking shaky and the party can now count on only 40 votes against the 39 councillors who are now either independent or represent other parties.

Labour’s opponents said recent events meant the party was unfit to govern Glasgow.

The SNP’s local government minister Derek MacKay said: “The collapse of the Labour Party in Glasgow over the council budget has shown they are unfit to serve the people of Glasgow and unfit for purpose.

“The local elections are three months away and it is unfair to the people of this great city to have a council led by a party completely devoid of any credibility.

“There is a real need for change and voters across Glasgow will have that opportunity to clear out Labour’s dead wood and bring in a fresh, open and transparent SNP administration that will work hard for the city at the council elections in May.”

One of those to resign was Anne Marie Millar, who claimed she had felt “intimidated and bullied” because the future of her own son’s apprenticeship had been raised by one of her Labour colleagues when she indicated that she would vote against the budget.

Moving to another of the departing councillors, Labour said Ms Black had not paid her subscription to the party and her membership had lapsed. She had already been suspended by the party following allegations of financial irregularities at a lesbian and gay centre that she ran with her partner.

Ms Black, a good friend of Labour’s disgraced former council leader Steven Purcell, was cleared of wrongdoing by the Standards Commission and the police.

The others to tender their resignations were Stephen Dornan and Tommy Morrison, who both resigned before Thursday’s vote, while William O’Rourke resigned earlier this week after being disciplined and barred for 18 months.

Labour launched a disciplinary inquiry after reports Mr O’Rourke had asked an alleged rape victim if she “wanted it to happen”, during a disciplinary meeting regarding the dismissal of a care worker accused of her rape.

Last night, a Labour source said: “This is the last stand of the Stephen Purcell mob. These are people who had already been disciplined, because they were not good enough to meet the required standards.”

A Scottish Labour spokesman said: “It is never easy if a party renews itself like this, but Labour won the vote [on Thursday] by putting forward a budget that creates jobs in Glasgow.”