“Put it this way — I am not surprised. He wants to be Lord Provost and wants to stay Lord Provost.

“It is very hard for Labour. People in that ward voted for a Labour candidate.

“I would have had much more respect for him if he had resigned and stood in a by-election.”

Former Dundee West MP Ernie Ross said he was “astounded” by the news, and that Councillor Letford’s decision had left him “lost for words”.

“The explanation he gives is nonsense to anyone in politics,” he said.

“I find it difficult to understand exactly where he is coming from. Politics is about opinions formed on the basis of belief and strategy.

“There have always been disagree-ments between the SNP, whose objective remains independence, and a democratic socialist party.

“I cannot understand what he is doing, but he has to explain it, not me.”