Argyll and Bute power struggle on a knife-edge

The coalition running Argyll and Bute Council has suffered a blow on the eve of tomorrow’s attempt by opposition councillors to seize power.

The result now looks set to be on a knife-edge – with both sides tied on 18 votes at tomorrow’s meeting unless there are any absences, abstentions or changes of side.

For the last 11 years the council has been run by a combination of Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and independents called The Argyll, Lomond and Islands Group (TALIG).

But in the wake of the U-turn on a 10% council tax increase, last month the ‘Strategic Opposition Partnership’ (SOP) called for a special meeting of all 36 councillors, accusing TALIG of ‘playing politics’ and ‘indecisive, clandestine, and weak leadership’.

The SOP’s letter calling for the special meeting carried the names of 15 SNP, Labour and independent councillors, leaving them short of an overall majority even if the authority’s sole Green councillor joined them, as happened during the crucial budget vote.

But today Cllr Tommy MacPherson – who was elected as a Conservative but is now listed as an Independent Unionist and abstained in the budget vote – made an identical call for a special meeting, saying that the positions of council leader Robin Currie, depute leader Gary Mulvaney and provost Maurice Corry were ‘untenable’.

He added: “Leaders who hold themselves accountable for their actions show that they are willing to take responsibility for their miscalculations, not just successes, serving as a reminder that everyone is accountable for their actions and decisions.

“The average working individual and family have, these past weeks, repeatedly voiced their anger, holding the TALIG leadership with considerable derision.

“Argyll and Bute’s taxpaying households won’t see change unless there is change.”

With nine conservatives and five Liberal Democrats in the TALIG group, the seven ‘independent’ councillors will again hold the balance of power – Mark Irvine and Douglas Philand have already committed themselves to the SOP, which leaves:

• Jennifer Kelly, elected as an independent in a by-election five months ago, she voted against the budget so would be expected to back the SOP.
• Alistair Redman, elected as an independent but has voted with TALIG – previously a Conservative councillor and national election candidate
• Andrew Kain, elected as an independent but has voted with TALIG – except for one occasion last month, when he voted against the closure of Luing Primary School in his ward.
• Kieron Green, elected as an independent but has stood unsuccessfully for Labour in the past; he has consistently voted with TALIG
• Liz McCabe, the council’s depute provost, who votes with TALIG.

With Cllr MacPherson’s announcement and previous voting patterns show that if everyone is present and there are no abstentions the result would be 18-18.