Labour and Tories vote together in Falkirk Council power struggle

At a special full council meeting this afternoon a motion put forward by the Tory group and Provost Billy Buchanan was passed by 14 votes to 13.

They had called for a reshuffle in the make up of the all-important executive.

It had eight SNP members, two Labour, one Conservative and one Independent, who is aligned with the SNP administration.

The motion called for the committee to have five SNP members, four from Labour and three Conservatives.

Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, the SNP group leader, said with the Labour councillors voting alongside the Tories to oust the SNP administration, it would mean a likely return to a Tory/Labour coalition leading the council.

She said: “The people of Falkirk voted for the SNP to lead their council – they put their trust in us to deliver better local services for them and their communities.

“But Labour and the Tories have arrogantly deigned that they know better.

“Today’s vote completely undermines the democratic choice of the people of Falkirk and is a shameless and self-serving move to seize control of the council.”

Prior to the vote, Conservative group leader Malcolm Nicol said: “No one part got a majority at Falkirk Council at the last election and some people need a reminder of that.

“The SNP only got 40 per cent of the seats in the full council, yet it holds 75 per cent of the seats on the executive.”

Labour group leader Dennis Goldie vowed to support any move that got them more representation on the important body.

He said: “A lot of important decisions are made at the executive.”