SNP fails in bid to oust Labour adminstration

Stirling Council's four-councillor Labour administration have narrowly survived a vote of no confidence.

- KAIYA MARJORIBANKS

SNP councillors had called a special meeting tabling the vote, and citing the failure to produce the council's 2024/25 year end accounts and the revenue and capital accounts for the current year to date.

However, both Labour and the Conservatives called it out as political opportunism, with Tory leader Cllr Neil Benny saying it was essentially an attempt to introduce an SNP administration.

Stirling Council has a total of 23 councillors - nine SNP, eight Conservative, four Labour, one Green and one Independent.

Despite Green councillor Alasdair Tollemache and independent Alasdair Macpherson voting for the motion, the SNP fell one vote short.

SNP group leader Cllr Susan McGill said: “It was bad enough when they had six Labour councillors holding the administration but with four clinging on to power the situation is now wholly unacceptable.”

On the matter of the accounts, she said what was more worrying than them being late was the fact that council leader, Cllr Gerry McGarvey, chair of the finance committee, had only recently become aware of the situation.