| Group leader Ken Guild said the defection of Lord Provost John Letford meant the SNP were in a position to form an administration at a special meeting of the council on Monday.
Mr Letford resigned after expressing concerns about Labour’s hard line on excluding the SNP — the largest group on the council with 14 members — from any decision-making role.
Councillor Guild said an attempt by Labour to coax Councillor Letford back into the fold was doomed to failure, and the SNP now expected to take power.
“Labour are very much clutching at straws. Councillor Letford has made a decision, which I know he has taken some considerable time to reach.
“It has taken a lot of soul searching and courage on his part in reaching that decision, and I don’t think there is any going back.
“He is not the first councillor to leave the Labour group in the last couple of months — Joe Morrow did it — and I think that reflects some of the tensions within the Labour group.
“I understand quite a lot of this tension has been to do with the coalition.
“I have given under-takings and reached agreements with both the Lord Provost and Depute Lord Provost and I will hold to these.
“I think the Labour Party trying to use a member of our group (Liz Fordyce) as a counter motion shows they are clutching at straws.”
Councillor Guild also confirmed to the Tele today that SNP candidates would fill the main convenerships in a new administration, but said other “quasi-judicial” roles would be offered to members from other parties — a concession that may have coloured Councillor Letford’s thinking.
“There are two different types of committee,” said Councillor Guild. “There are policy-making committees that have budgetary implications, and I will be proposing SNP conveners — and there are quasi-judicial committees like develop-ment quality and licensing which are non party political, and we are in discussions with others at the moment with a view to filling those posts.”
Meanwhile, SNP Dundee West MSP Joe FitzPatrick said today a change in administration was overdue.
He said, “After decades of Labour domination it is now time for a new start for Dundee. This is a real vote of confidence from the people of Dundee in the ability of the SNP to run this city and to put Dundee at the heart of Scotland’s future.
“Less than three weeks ago Gordon Brown came to Dundee and claimed the city was in a ‘great state’ because it had a Labour council — it is clear the voters of Dundee and now one of Labour’s own councillors disagree.
“Dundee faces new challenges following the announcement at NCR, but also new opportunities with funding in place to revive the waterfront and investment in training for the City’s computer games and life sciences industries.
“The SNP is up to those challenges, and we hope to see a change in admin-istration on Monday.” |
