ABERDEEN City Council’s ruling coalition was in disarray last night after a Labour bid to ban SNP ministers from the city unravelled on a chaotic day at the town house.
Finance convener Willie Young will today face a vote of no confidence tabled by the opposition SNP group over his plan to deny Alex Salmond and his Cabinet access to local authority property.
In a bizarre series of mixed messages from the administration, deputy leader Marie Boulton was reported to have dismissed the move – discussed in a series of media interviews by Mr Young on Monday – as a “slip of the tongue”.
Conservative group leader Fraser Forsyth – who pledged to back the ban on Monday – also back-tracked on his support.
The shift was understood to have followed an intervention from Scottish party leader Ruth Davidson.
The planned banning motion was ditched later in the day in favour of a watered-down call to review protocol for ministerial visits.
But Mr Young then insisted that SNP ministers were already prohibited from using council property.
Local authority sources confirmed there was no such official policy in place, however, and council leader Barney Crockett stopped short of endorsing his party colleague’s comments, telling the Press and Journal he would “never use” the word ban.
SNP group leader Callum McCaig described the day as “utter chaos” and argued that Mr Young was no longer fit to hold his position.
He said: “The conflicting statements from administration councillors show that they are fundamentally at odds with each other and all because of Willie Young’s ridiculous threats.
“As a member of Johann Lamont’s devolution commission, Willie Young’s actions will be a huge embarrassment to the Labour leadership – just as he has been a repeated embarrassment to the council.
“People in Aberdeen are rightly fed up of this city’s name being dragged through the mud to satisfy Willie Young’s ego – but more importantly they are furious that he has opposed more funding for the city.”
Labour insisted they would weather any vote of no confidence, and Mr Young remained adamant that SNP ministers were not welcome in the city.
He said that a recent request from housing minister Margaret Burgess was denied on that basis.
Mr Young added: “This is about mutual respect, and I don’t think that the first minister and his ministers respect Aberdeen.
“Right at this moment, if a Scottish minister asks to get on to our property, the answer is no. That’s been our position for some time.”
Mr Forsyth, who had said on Monday he would support a ban, said yesterday he was not sure that he could support a Labour motion.
He said: “I had no problem with the idea in principle, although when I saw Willie Young on television last night, that was not what we had originally talked about.”
Mr Forsyth later said that he wanted to concentrate on “real issues” for the city, and was not sure if he would back Labour at today’s full council meeting.
He also denied that a morning conversation with his party leader had led to a shift in position.
Independent Alliance group leader Mrs Boulton did not attend a group leaders’ meeting last night, but colleagues John Reynolds and Andy Finlayson confirmed they would support the Labour motion to review protocol for ministerial visits.
Mr Reynolds, however, said he “could not have supported” a ban on ministers visiting the city.
Mrs Boulton did not return calls seeking comment.
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